 |
|
Welcome to Centre Court
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The owners and management of Centre Court are proud of the building and its particular heritage. Built originally for Beacon Insurance in the mid 1930s it is a superb example of the style at the time of its construction.
Whilst it has been essential to upgrade the interior of the building, much care and thought has gone into retaining as many of the original features as possible. The most impressive being the marble staircase which spirals through centre of the building.
The purpose of this page is to give further insight into the style and its background. For those whose interest is piqued further, a Google search will yield many avenues to explore.
Art Deco is a very particular architectural style of the early part of the 20th Century, although the term Art Deco was not coined until the 1960s.
Although it is never possible to say exactly when a particular style took hold, it is fair to say that Art Deco grew out of the Art Nouveau style of the late 19th Century. In it's earliest form Art Deco like Art Nouveau was heavily influenced by the natural world. However after the first world war Art Deco began to take on many of the attributes that made it such a recognisible style which very much reflected the coming of the machine age. |
| |
Perhaps the best known Art Deco building in the UK is the superb Hoover Building in West London. No longer the Head Quarters of that company it retains the Hoover name and is a famous example of unique, Art Deco, styling.
Built in 1932 in Perivale Middlesex, Wallis, Gilbert and Partners tour de force is possibly the finest Art Deco structure in Britain. Now sensitively preserved as offices for Tesco's supermarket and an office building for Gallaghers. its principle building is a, two storey, low-lying, white structure with the front divided into 15 bays by massive Egyptian pillars with ornate designs on the tops and bottoms. Over the central doorway is a large Sunray-like design with touches of red, blue, green and golden arrow quills; and matching gates of ornate metalwork. The towers at either end have curved corner windows, sunbursts and arrow quill features. To the left of the factory is what was the canteen; its style reminiscent of a streamlined Odeon cinema. Interior features include a green marble tiled factory washroom and toilets, magnificent Art Deco stairways and floor to ceiling sunburst windows. |
| |
Art Deco was not just an architectural style, it became a lifestyle. Buildings, furnishings, clothing as well as trains, cars and household object such as radios were all influenced by the era and incorporated the unique styling.
Though Art Deco did not have the 20's and 30's all to itself, moderism had been born at the end of the 19th century and by the 20's and 30's began making its presence felt elsewhere, particularly in Germany. |
| |
'High' Art Deco was largely dealt a death blow by the Depression. Design became much more utilitarian and became increasingly influenced by the machine age and, to an extent, the Bauhaus School of Art in Berlin. Indeed, Centre Court can be easily dated to the latter part of the 1930's as although it retains many of the classical Art Deco geometric lines, it lacks some of the 'frills' of earlier buildings.
In Europe there are very few examples of post war Art Deco with the exception of some individual dwellings. Public and corporate buildings did not really get going again until the late 50s, by which time the (by comparison) somewhat brutal modernist movement had taken over.
However, in the USA it did survive the war and some very strong examples of 40s Art Deco can still be found. These have been characterised in many of the wonderful prints we have managed to source for the interior decor of Centre Court. |
| |
One of the most enduring examples of Art Deco is very closeby in Central Birmingham.
The Electric Cinema is the oldest working cinema in the country and offers 'a certain style' to the experience of seeing a film that many modern cinemas cannot compete with. It seems that Centre Court and The Electric Cinema have a much in common! |
|
|
The top of the Chrysler building New York one of the best known Art Deco structures in the world
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
