McKay Trading Estate

The McKay Trading Estate comprises warehouses and offices constructed between 1976 and 1978 by John Outram Associates, with Tony McIntyre and Ernest Nagy as key contributors. The buildings are constructed of brown brick over a grey brick base, and feature brick arches that form a continuous curved roofline, concealing sheet roofing.

The building is set at an angle to the road and consists of a main office block and nine warehouses, arranged in pairs, with the first warehouse forming a pair with two-story offices. Each warehouse has a projecting window and a set-back loading bay to the front, with some pairs positioned further forward than others. The rear of the building showcases a stepped profile at either end, created by the shorter lengths of warehouses 1-4 and 9. The south-western (street) elevation features two-story, five-bay offices with a double-height entrance hall connecting to the first warehouse.

The Blackthorne Road elevation has five bays, defined by a continuous curved roofline and full-height timber window frames with dark glazing in each bay. Small concrete sections mark the springing point of each arch. The return elevation, facing the site’s entrance, features a full-height window incorporating the entrance to the first unit and illuminating the double-height entrance hall. A canopy over the entrance door is a later addition.

Behind the street-facing block are alternating pairs of warehouse doors and projecting office wings for each unit, clearly identified by concrete "capitals" displaying the unit number as raised lettering. Loading bays feature timber spandrels consistent with the office window units, although the roller shutter doors have been replaced. Some smaller office units have replacement windows.

The entrance hall of the largest unit was originally designed by Outram and featured timber boarding to the arched ceiling and bands of timber set in white plaster. This has been refitted and is now uniformly white, and it is unknown whether the original timber elements remain. The offices beyond have been refitted for functional use. The smaller offices in individual units, which were not inspected, are reported to be plain and largely refitted, while the warehouse interiors are utilitarian.