Vita CortX Ind., Dunmurry Industrial Estate, The Cutts, Creighton Road, BT17 9HU

Vita CortX Industrial Building

An asymmetrical single-storey red-brick factory in the international modern style, built circa 1960, located on the north side of The Cutts, Dunmurry Industrial Estate, opposite Charles Hurst Ltd.

The factory is square on plan with a flat roof and north-light roof arrangement at the centre. A single-storey north-light extension was added at the south-west circa 1963, aligned north-south. Two modern factory sheds of little architectural interest were added to the south-east side of the extension around 2000. An original red-brick flat roof garage remains at the south-east corner, now used for storage.

Flat roofs consist of precast concrete slabs with bitumen-based roof coverings, parapet walling and precast concrete verges, concealed gutters and cast aluminium gutters projecting from parapet walling. The north-light roof comprises red-brick walling at east and west with concrete coping, glazed north lights and asbestos corrugated sheets at the south.

The main walling is stretcher-bonded red brick with a recessed stretcher-bonded brick plinth. Windows are original metal casements (top-hung and pivot types) contained within painted rendered bands and flush splayed concrete sills, with some original glazing remaining.

The principal elevation faces north and comprises a single-storey range interrupted at the centre by a slightly higher entrance with a projection at the left. The projection and entrance are smooth rendered. The projection's north elevation contains 'CortX' signage, with its left and right cheeks featuring large multi-paned metal casement windows. The entrance comprises double-leaf fully glazed doors flanked by full-height glazed panels, contained within a recessed opening with splayed walling containing brick detailing. The entrance can be closed by a roller shutter. A single-storey brick range at the right contains nine continuous windows; that at the left contains three windows divided by brick piers at the right and a circular window at the left. The north-light roof is visible at the rear, comprising a series of continuous vertically glazed panels abutted by a three-storey red-brick block at the left.

The east elevation comprises three single-storey projecting bays: that at the right is blank; those at the centre and left contain three continuous high-level top-hung metal casement windows with four windows and a door in their left and right cheeks; three large metal casement windows are located at the west of the principal block. Both recessed areas are now covered by modern flat roof construction comprising timber joists, corrugated metal roofing and replacement rainwater goods.

The south elevation is abutted by a single-storey red-brick range at the right containing replacement metal doors at the south; the right cheek contains a central louvered double-leaf timber door accessed by a single concrete step, flanked by a single window at the left and right (the window at the left being diminished and boarded). The original north-light roofed section has an asbestos-sheeted roof and metal-clad walling, abutted at the left by a north-south aligned single-storey extension comprising a series of eight north lights.

The west elevation comprises the principal block at the left containing, from left to right: two windows, a red-brick gate pier, a double-leaf entrance door with roller shutter, and six windows (the leftmost of which comprises replacement glazing and a replacement timber entrance door). To the left, a series of eight north-light bays each contain three high-level single-pane metal casement windows. The fifth and sixth bays from the north contain replacement double-leaf timber entrance doors.

The original square-on-plan garage, largely intact and now used for storage, is detailed with two windows at the south and west and a roller shutter at the north.

The factory is set back from the road with a large tree-lined parking area to the front and a yard to the south, accessed at the east and west (the west access is permanently closed). The east access remains in everyday use and comprises modern steel gates supported on a red-brick pier at the east. The site is heavily encroached by modern factory buildings on either side, although it remains prominent due to its scale.