London Deco: Offices Part 1
()
About this ebook
Take a journey into a part of London that you never knew existed. Explore the city’s many Art Deco office buildings in a profusely illustrated two part ebook by award winning author Gregory Edwards. In amongst the great jumble of styles present in Central London you will find the Art Deco offices that were created between the two world wars when London rebuilt itself and expanded with bright new styles in all directions. Many of these buildings survived the blitz and can still be seen. Part 1 moves from the buildings on the riverside, once a major form of urban transport, through offices in Victoria, Mayfair, Soho, and Fitzrovia to the West End. In Part 2 the historical survey continues through the glory days of Fleet Street's newspaper business through to the financial district and beyond. In addition to this you will discover offices in recent years created here in a Post-Modernist style that recaptures and adds to the original Art Deco period of the twenties and thirties. There is also a chapter about the buildings that have recently fallen due to the pressure of progress, and mention of some that are still around but under threat from development.
Gregory Edwards
I love to write poetry in my spare time, which generally consists of sitting on trains going in and out of central London. In addition to writing poetry, my work is concerned with art and the urban environment. I call this theme ‘The Decorated City’, and I am dedicated to increasing awareness of how important it is for urban dwellers to have a beautiful and inspiring environment, and not simply empty walls of concrete and brick.My first printed book ‘Hidden Cities,’ (1991) was a book about history, art and design in architectural details, and was published by Vancouver Canada publisher Talonbooks. I researched and wrote the text, designed the book, and shot all of the 371 photographs in it. ‘Hidden Cities’ won a City of Vancouver Heritage Award for 1992. It was also a nominee for the Vancouver Book Award. You can still find it on Amazon.In 1994 I moved to London where I have lived, worked and studied for over twenty years. During this time I have exhibited photographs of Art Deco architecture on numerous occasions, and given talks about London’s Art Deco architecture. From 2006-2012 I also had a website called ‘London Deco’.In September 2014 I published the first volume of a series of ebooks: ‘London Deco: Offices’. This was the first publication dedicated to exclusively examine the city’s considerable number of Art Deco office buildings, most of them in central London. This ebook has over three hundred photographs in it, and includes sections devoted to buildings that no longer exist, and also on contemporary ones which reference Art Deco. This was only available from Apple, but has now been translated to Smashwords, albeit in two volumes due to the high number of photos in it.This was followed by ‘London Deco: Residences – Part 1 Suburbia’ and some time later with ‘London Deco: Residences – Part 2 Central London’. These two ebooks effectively divide the tremendous number of Art Deco apartments – ‘blocks of flats’ to Londoners – into outer and inner segments which in turn each revolved West - North - East - South. With these two volumes a broad survey is presented, showing the many forms of Art Deco flats constructed in the Greater London area, mainly in the 1930s, but sometimes later. Both feature hundreds of photographs, many in single album frames. At this point only available from Apple.Another work, ‘London Deco: Introduction’ is available as a free download. All of these books can be located by searching for ‘gregory edwards london deco’. This is available from Apple too, but also from Smashwords for non-Apple users.Art and poetry activities have so far resulted in ‘Stay Up Late’ which is a collection of science-fiction and fantasy poems available from Smashwords and Apple. I have recently published a new work, an illustrated collection of poems called: ‘Rotten Rhymes’. This is intended to be fun, light reading with the occasional bite of comment on life.
Read more from Gregory Edwards
London Deco: Introduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoris Anrep: A Modern Master Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLondon Deco: Offices Part 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStay Up Late Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWe’re All In the Same Boat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRotten Rhymes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to London Deco
Related ebooks
Cincinnati Art Deco Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArt Deco Decorative Ironwork Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArt Deco House Styles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Decoration of Houses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArt Deco in Detroit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Country Houses of the Thirties: With Photographs and Floor Plans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic Modern Homes of the Thirties: 64 Designs by Neutra, Gropius, Breuer, Stone and Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Furniture of the Renaissance to the Baroque - A Treatise on the Furniture from Around Europe in this Period Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVictorian Gothic House Styles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Greek and Roman Architecture in Classic Drawings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Decoration of Houses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParis Mansions and Apartments 1893: Facades, Floor Plans and Architectural Details Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Victorian Brick and Terra-Cotta Architecture in Full Color: 160 Plates Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New Geometric Systems: Jekabs Zvilna and Integrative Form-Languages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFactories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Egyptian decorative art: A course of lectures delivered at the Royal Institution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pleasures and Treasures of Britain: A Discerning Traveller's Companion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWrought Iron and Its Decorative Use Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Architecture: Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUAE and the Gulf: Architecture and Urbanism Now Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrank Furness: Architecture in the Age of the Great Machines Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrench Art Deco Ironwork Designs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeco Design Miami Beach Style Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLondon: Bread and Circuses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eileen Gray: Her Work and Her World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Volume 01, No. 01, January 1895 The Gothic Palaces of Venice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThomas Chippendale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Architecture For You
House Beautiful: Colors for Your Home: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Paint Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMartha Stewart's Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Become An Exceptional Designer: Effective Colour Selection For You And Your Client Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Feng Shui Modern Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flatland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down to Earth: Laid-back Interiors for Modern Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Fix Absolutely Anything: A Homeowner's Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Architecture 101: From Frank Gehry to Ziggurats, an Essential Guide to Building Styles and Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Live Beautiful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shinto the Kami Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Victorian House Explained Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComplete Book of Home Inspection 4/E Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Bohemians Handbook: Come Home to Good Vibes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse: How to Design and Build a Net-Zero Energy Greenhouse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Making Midcentury Modern Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Giza Power Plant: Technologies of Ancient Egypt Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solar Power Demystified: The Beginners Guide To Solar Power, Energy Independence And Lower Bills Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The New Bohemians: Cool & Collected Homes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Build Shipping Container Homes With Plans Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for London Deco
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
London Deco - Gregory Edwards
Preface
The London Deco project began in 1996 out of a gradual attempt to catalogue the countless manifestations of Art Deco architecture that were to be found in the city. To throw a big net around all that which might fit into some context of Art Deco does not guarantee recording every single building which might fall into this category, but nonetheless still attempts something of this sort. London is an immense city and sifting out suitable candidates from its endless streets has taken time... and time has taken its toll, from the bombings of the war to the constant demand for land for development.
In fact this has proven a fascinating, if at times daunting task, as the period between the wars, when most, but not all, of these were built, saw a building boom not only in the city, but also expanding ever outwards to distant and newer suburbs. Some British architects made use of the new ideas that came from Europe and America at the start of the twentieth century, but these were frequently mixed in with existing styles. These can often be found in areas replete with many historical forms, and thus often tend to blend in invisibly with their surroundings.
With hindsight, looking at the many buildings throughout this book, we might automatically consider that British architects in the early years of the twentieth century were either terribly conservative, or saddled with clients who were. The truth is that the country was at the same time always interested in innovation, yet rather suspicious of modernity, and preferred to update and hybridize familiar styles, rather than leaping forward with any of the shattering new ones.
After the end of World War l Britain was still in the possession of a considerable empire, and many commercial concerns engaged in the construction of substantial new office blocks for themselves, or building new ones. We will look here at these, and other Art Deco offices in the centre of London. There will also be a chapter dedicated to buildings and their architectural details of note that no longer inhabit the city.
Finally, it was Post-Modernist architecture that brought about the reappraisal of the application of Art Deco’s specific forms, and London now has many contemporary buildings that either incorporate Art Deco decorative pastiche elements, or take from its vocabulary of forms. This new generation will also be examined
Introduction
The Growth of the Office in Mid-war London: Stepping Up
London's offices began to ascend further upwards in the late nineteenth century era of Victorian gingerbread, with architects beginning to make buildings more than six storeys high. Any British architects who had been to American cities at this time would certainly have been inspired by the astonishing vertical race taking place among their transatlantic counterparts. Though never hitting the sky-scraping heights, and rarely matching the polychrome splendour of those new towers in New York, Chicago, and other major American cities, there are some exceptional examples in central London.
Similarly, while there were, with the exception of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, no British architects who directly contributed to the extensive vocabulary of visual elements collectively known as Art Deco, mainly worked out by designers in Vienna and Paris, we can find examples of these motifs all over London. Indeed, it is fascinating to see the responses of the British architects who chose to make use of them in the largely conservative architectural milieux of early twentieth century Britain. This was modernity finally breaking into the city.
In fact the mid-war London buildings shown here have a number of features that qualify them