Building MPM1930 - The News Centre

Former offices and printing works for the Portsmouth Evening News built in 1966, demolished in 2024. Office based staff moved out of the centre in 2013, but the printing presses remained on site.

Former offices and printing works for the Portsmouth Evening News built in 1966, demolished in 2024. The premises were designed by A. E. Cogswell & Sons. The building was constructed using mainly precast concrete components and some of the beams were prestressed with a newly-developed strand known as Dyform. The building may have been the first in the UK to have used Dyform in its construction.

The three-storey area at the front of the building was designed as an office block and the two-storey section behind as a production area housing a paper store and printing press etc. The interior design of the building is essentially open plan in order to allow the space to be adapted to changing requirements over time.

The office area at the front of the building was curved and had exterior precast concrete twin-column frames incorporating capstone aggregate. The rear wall was supported by a series of precast concrete columns. The production area had exterior precast columns designed in a 'cricket-bat' shape, with the 'blade' section acting partly as cladding for the first floor storey. Both floors had large windows. Between the columns and windows on the first floor were sculptured sand blasted panels designed by William Mitchell and cast by Dean Jesmond & Co Ltd. The roof in the production area was constructed using prestressed precast units of Y-section and was designed to carry the specified floor loading to allow an extra storey to be added to the building if needed at a later date. The upper part of the chimney shaft was precast in one piece.

The Portsmouth Evening News (now called The News) moved into the building in 1969. Office based staff moved out of the centre to 1000 Lakeside at North Harbour in 2013, but the printing presses remained on site. The building was completely demolished in 2024 ahead of the site being redeveloped.

A detailed account of the construction of the building appeared in the publication 'Concrete' part 3 March 1967.

1967, Newspaper building at Portsmouth: Notable precast and prestressed concrete construction (Bibliographic reference). SPM532.

The News, 2013, The News (Bibliographic reference). SPM533.