The western half of Smithfield market in the City of London remains much as it was when completed in 1868. A classic Victorian market hall, it encloses a forest of ornate and cast-iron columns surmounted by timber mansard roofs. It is awash with fresh air and light. The eastern half of the market, newly converted at a cost of £36.5m, has been fully restored outside. But inside, it has become something startlingly different from its Siamese twin. It is now a three-storey stack of modern, hermetically sealed compartments, all air-conditioned and partly refrigerated.
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