The Carlsberg Factory - Northampton

* Architectural Style: Brutalism
* Address: Jacobsen House, 140 Bridge St, Northampton NN1 1PZ
* Arup commissioned: 1970
* Officially opened: 1974
* Project cost: £15 million
* Materials: Concrete, steel, glass, bricks
* Architect: Knud Munk

In 1970, Carlsberg hired the architectural firm Arup to commission a brewery in Northampton. Costing £15m! Arup asked Danish architect Knud Munk to produce a design that would “express the best in modern Danish architecture” and Munk was influenced and inspired by a Danish longship. The River Nene was even diverted to create space for this huge concrete building.

Munk received the Financial Times Industrial Architecture prize! With all the inspiration from Danish breweries it’s no surprise that Princess Benedikte of Denmark officially opened the brewery on the 10th May in 1974.

In 2013 there was an expansion which increased the breweries output by a third.

Nowadays, the brewery pumps out a shocking 2 million pints a day and has employed 230 people as well as running an engineering apprenticeship for new recruits to the industry.

In May this year (2024) the brewery marked their 50th anniversary. The 418-foot National lift tower was lit up in Carlsberg green to celebrate the occasion.

Jacob Aarup-Andersen, the chief executive of Carlsberg Group, said: “As the first brewery Carlsberg built outside of Denmark in Europe, the Carlsberg Brewery in Northampton holds a special place in our history."