Art Deco style architecture flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, with the Paris Exhibition of 1925 fueling the movement. The strongest influences were Cubism and Ancient Egypt, after the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
Daily Express
The reflective black Vitrolite, glass and chrome exterior hides a wonderfully ornate interior by Robert Atkinson. Architect Sir Owen Williams, more of an engineer, designed the M1, Britain’s first motorway, and the Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction).
Fleet Street EC4
Tube: Blackfriars
Broadcasting House
Eric Gill’s statue of Shakespeare’s Prospero and Ariel dominates the BBC’s main entrance. The building is a circular core for radio and TV studios, isolated from noise by office blocks. Look for the other three reliefs of Ariel around the outside walls.
2-22 Portland Place W1
Tube: Oxford Circus
55 Broadway
Once the tallest office building in London, this was built as the headquarters for the London Electric Railway Company (LER) - now London Underground. Jacob Epstein modified one of his sculptures (Day and Night) after the male nudity caused outrage.
55 Broadway SW1
Tube: St James’s Park
Florin Court
Opened in 1936, the undulating exterior of this apartment block is familiar as the home of TV detective Hercules Poirot. A roof garden and Art Deco-style swimming pool in the basement make up for the fact it has some of the smallest flats in London.
Charterhouse Street, EC1
Tube: Farringdon
Eltham Palace
This Art Deco house was built for the Courtaulds in the 1930s, an unexpected sight beside the Great Hall of the medieval palace, built for Edward IV in the 1470s and childhood home of Henry VIII. Now run by English Heritage and open four days a week.
off Court Road SE9
Rail: Eltham/Mottingham
www.elthampalace.org.uk
The Spitfire Works
Built for the Palmer Tyre Co and used to make aircraft parts during WWII, this building was restored by architect Terry Farrell and now houses his offices. Check out the very different Penfold Street side - once a furniture factory, now a set of apartments.
Hatton Street NW8
Tube: St John’s Wood
Any comments - or a suggestion? Please e-mail me.
Selfridges
A soaring steel frame was clad in romantic classical style by American architect Daniel Burnham in 1926. This great temple to shopping is well worth a look before you plunge inside. Note the sculpture of the Queen of Time riding on a ship of commerce over the entrance.
400 Oxford Street W1
Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 1234
Tube: Marble Arch
Art Deco
Greater London House
The former Carreras Cigarette Factory has been restored to its original art deco glory, which was heavily influenced by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The brightly coloured lotus flowers are an ancient Egyptian motif but the black cats adorning the building were the logo of Carreras cigarettes.
Hampstead Road NW1 7AD
Tube: Camden Town
Hoover Building
Built for Hoover, the vacuum cleaner manufacturers, in 1935, this wonderful factory was its UK head office until the 1980s. The white concrete is offset with Egyptian-style ceramics and illuminated by green light at night.The building is now a Tesco superstore.
Western Avenue, Perivale UB6
Tube: Perivale
