Top 5

London's coolest art deco buildings

Mike Pollitt | Monday 1 November, 2010 11:05

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Now that we’re teetering on the precipice of the double dip, what better time to channel the brighter side of the 1930’s? If there’s one thing they knew back then, it was how to spend money they didn’t really have on architecture they didn’t really need. Here are five extant examples from the 1920s and 30s which range from the sublime to the ever so slightly ridiculous.

Southgate Station
Southgate Station
One of the most famous of Charles Holden’s hugely influential designs for the tube (more of those here). Looks like nothing so much as an alien spaceship come to land among us, only difference being that instead of taking you to Rigel VII it takes you to Holborn. Ah well.

Arsenal Stadium
Highbury Square
The new flats at Highbury will incorporate the art deco facade from the East and West stands of the old football stadium. When the East stand was being built in 1936 it went three times over budget. That was 1936 – wasn’t there a depression going on or something? Mental. Sack the board.

Du Cane Court
Du Cane Court
Wikipedia offers the tantalising, unsubstantiated and utterly baffling rumour that this Balham apartment block was being lined up as the HQ of Hitler’s government if the Nazis conquered Britain. Did I mention it’s in Balham? He really was rubbish at the detail, wasn’t he? The building also featured in ITV’s Poirot adaptation with David Suchet, the nostalgia-tastic opening credits of which contain a pretty sexy art deco/futurist steam train. Great.

Barkers, Kensington
Barker’s Kensington
Just a cracking, manly, thrusting tower like New York has about a gazillion of. Now a whole foods shop rather than an epic department store, which is slightly dull, but that’s just a sign of the times – people would rather buy soy beans than frilly hats. Shame on you.

Carreras Building
Carreras Cigarette Factory
Now, this one is a little bit silly. Inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the Egypt-mania which ensued, this building is modelled on an Egyptian temple and guarded by a couple of six foot high statues of black cats. All for a factory making cigarettes. You just don’t get this sort of financial irresponsibility from these companies any more; Snipe blames the smoking ban for squeezing revenues which could have been spent on bizarre architectural gimmickry.

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Email: michael.pollitt@snipelondon.com

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Du Cane Court was never home to Poirot in the TV series, only two episodes (Hickory Dickory Dock & Plymouth Express) were filmed there (to use the art deco style reception). Poirots’ apartment was in Whitehaven Mansions N1, this in reality is Florin Court in Charterhouse Square.

By Du Cane Court Resident on Wed 3 November 2010 21:03

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Thank you Du Cane Court resident – I’ve amended the text. If anyone out there knows of an Agatha Christie tour map of London I’d love to hear of it…if not I may have to make one.

By Mike Pollitt on Fri 5 November 2010 00:06

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