Marlborough House, Central Way, Tamnafiglassan, Craigavon, BT64 1AD

Substantial, but compactly proportioned six-storey cuboid modernist office block of 1973-77 designed as part of the initial phase of the development of the ‘central core’ of New City of Craigavon, whose façade is almost entirely composed of a uniform grid of distinctive oblong concrete window panels with pill shaped windows. SETTING The building is located within what is still a largely open setting to the W of Central Way, Craigavon. To the immediate E is a large car park, with a landscaped parkland area to the W and N, with a smaller area of landscaping and another car park to the S separating the block from more recently constructed buildings. There are several small single-storey freestanding structures close to the rear of the building. GENERAL The plan is basically square, save for a wide single-storey entrance / foyer projection to the N, and in overall form the building resembles a large, slightly flattened cube but with a recessed (cantilevered) ground floor level, and a set-back plant section on the roof. ELEVATIONS - UPPER LEVELS Apart from the entrance projection, all sides of the building are identical with the upper six floors being composed of a uniform grid of textured (i.e. exposed aggregate) grey-coloured rectangular concrete panels, within each of which is a marginally smaller and slightly projecting concrete panel with curved corners. All of the latter have a similarly textured, white-coloured surface, and a tall narrow offset pill shaped fixed pane window, and each inner panel projects further at the top giving the subtle but noticeable illusion, (when viewed at close quarters from ground level), that the faces of the building are splayed. GROUND LEVEL The recessed ground level is largely made up of more textured grey concrete panels with a series of similar offset pill windows. The panels curve into matching concrete paving with the pilotis supporting the upper floor overhang clad in similar material. The part of the NW corner is finished in brown rustic brick, and there are several service doorways to the rear (W), with another doorway with access ramp to the S. ENTRANCE PROJECTION The entrance, which although large, is discretely positioned to the right of centre on the N side of the building. It is finished in the same manner as the rest of the ground level, but with an overhanging flat roof with tall parapet. Its broad frontage has five, large, centrally (and symmetrically) positioned openings, all with curved corners. The three central openings are doorways, with glazed doors (which look like replacements) to the outer two of these, and a plain flat panel double leaf door to that to the centre. The windows have two pane frames. In front of the entrance is a relatively recently constructed access ramp.