Michelin House's Technical Side
Michelin House is known for its decorative design. What cannot be seen from its exterior or interior design is that it is an early example of concrete construction in Britain.
The building was constructed using Hennebique's ferro-concrete construction system. The ferro-concrete system offered great benefits for the construction of clear open spaces (ideal for storing tyres in the most efficient way). It also offered fire resistance properties which were very important when storing large quantities of highly flammable tyres.
The system also had the advantage of quick construction; Michelin House took only 5 months to build. The original floors were constructed using hollow pot tiles. This flooring system as well as being highly durable also offered very good fireproofing qualities.
Other interesting original features in Michelin House were automatic doors into the entrance hall and a weighing bay in the fitting area which weighed customers' cars so the correct tyre pressure could be applied.
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