Plans have been revealed to build a massive, 28,000 square-metre metal cube in west London. Named ‘Portal Way’, the structure is intended for North Action and is intended to be home to hundreds of commercial kitchens and thousands of chefs. Made specifically for industrial food production, the cube would be the first building of its kind.
If you’re ever wondering where all those Deliveroos come from, a lot of them are cooked up in so-called ‘dark kitchens’ – restaurants that have no dining space and are delivery only. Inside the cube will be ten storeys of ‘dark kitchens’ above a community food hall with street vendors, cafés and public space on the ground and first floors.
Food from the kitchens will be ordered by the public via apps and ‘shuttled down to the market space via smart food lifts’. The building will apparently provide 1,200 new jobs for the local area. Here are a few renders of the place.
Dowen Farmer, the architecture firm behind the colossal structure, has submitted a proposal to the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). The firm is hoping for a decision by October 2023.
Whether you think ‘Portal Way’ sounds like a soulless food-churning operation or an exciting use of new technology, we’re interested to see how it might change food delivery in London. Find out more about the project on the Dowen Farmer website here.
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