London Architecture - Art Deco

05 April, 2011
by: TomArmstrong

As part of our London Architecture series, we take a look at our capital's finest examples of Art Deco.

For some, the inter-war years in London were a time of glamour and vivaciousness. A young generation of creatives and socialites lived with one eye on an exciting future and another on the sparkle of Hollywood. This was reflected in the style of the time: Art Deco. Although the term 'Art Deco' itself would not come to be used until much later, the fashion was first popularised with a 1925 Paris exhibition, showcasing the best in modern, forward-thinking design. Influences poured in from all areas of a rapidly changing culture: the geometric lines and shapes of Cubist artists, new materials such as chrome and Bakelite, and a new ability to travel in leisure time.

Even so, while the movement flourished in Paris, Chicago and Miami, here in Blighty what was seen by many as a brash, trashy and distinctly un-British style wasn't as widely accepted. Therefore while London may not have become a hub of Art Deco design like our American or French neighbours, we were still gifted some beautiful examples to swan around in like Cecil Beaton.

The Hoover Building (pictured above)

Where: Perivale

When: 1932-38

It's one of those fabulous quirks of London's personality that our most majestic Art Deco building stands not where you might expect, either in the West End or Belgravia, but just off the A40 in Perivale. The Hoover Building, originally a factory for the vacuum cleaner company and now a Tesco, has become our most shining example of Deco architecture, leaving the thousands of motorists who pass it each day in awe of its huge glass windows, grand pillars and brilliant white concrete. It is such a perfect portrayal of American Deco it almost throws you at first glance to see our own Union flag flying above rather than the Stars and Stripes we've come to associate such with grand Art Deco buildings.

The Savoy

Where:The Strand

When: Opened 1889

Everything about this luxury hotel on The Strand exudes the combination of elegance and glamour for which the Art Deco period is so fondly remembered. The hotel where the Bright Young Things partied, Coward and Gershwin played, and Chanel and Dietrich stayed, still carries the same charm as it did all those years ago. A recent refurbishment has given Savoy institutions like the American Bar a spring clean and introduced the 'Beaufort Bar', designed in a typically Deco style of black marble and gold leaf.

55 Broadway

Where: St James' Park

When: 1927-29

Our tube system is one of the best and most complete design features of our exceptionally stylish city, but it goes largely unnoticed by the travelling masses every day. Everything from the countless stations to the logo itself is a perfect working model of 1930s Art Deco. The London Underground HQ, situated above and incorporating St James' Park Station, is the flagship of the tube’s Deco design, although at the time of building its avant-garde design features caused uproar and almost cost managing director Frank Pick his job. Even the address, 55 Broadway, conjures up images of New York glamour, and Charles Holden’s masterpiece of Deco architecture certainly wouldn’t look out of place next to the Rockefeller Center or Chrysler building. A clean Portland stone exterior houses an ornate interior finished in bronze and marble: quintessentially Deco.

Carreras Cigarette Factory

Where: Mornington Cresent

When: 1928

In 1922 Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, finding treasures lying untouched for almost 3,000 years and sparking a popular fascination with Ancient Egyptian culture which presented itself in everything from clothing to graphic design and architecture. The Art Deco movement explored this theme in depth. Perhaps the most interesting and obvious example of the Egyptian revivalist movement in London is the Carreras Cigarette Factory, near Mornington Cresent tube station. Two huge black cats sit on pillars at the front, guarding huge colourful columns representing Egyptian opulence. You'd be forgiven at first glance for thinking it was some kind of temple – there's certainly no other building like it in London.

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Images: ahisgett, DG Jones, mermaid99, stephen hoper