London Deco: An Introduction

The London Deco Project was begun by Gregory Edwards in 1996. Having made studies of Art Deco architecture in Vancouver and Victoria Canada, (a chapter about this can be found in his award-winning 1991 book "Hidden Cities") as well as observing it in New Zealand and in Brazil, he turned his cameras towards the streets of London, England. It soon became apparent that while there are a few internationally acknowledged masterpieces of Art Deco architecture here, such as the Hoover Factory, The Daily Express building, and BBC Broadcasting House, there were many more buildings constructed in the many versions of this style from the period between the late 1920s and the early 1950s than are generally acknowledged.

Why is London not more highly regarded as an Art Deco city?

This website was created to show a little slice of the many fine Art Deco buildings to be found in the Greater London area. This website looks at Cinemas, Factories - with a feature on the Hoover Factory, the London Underground, as well as Offices, and finally a look at some of the Artists who contributed to London Deco.

Why is London not considered an Art Deco city?

One reason for this is the fact that the major innovators of this style were mostly European in origin. Outside Europe, their work had such brilliant success in the United States, in the large and often brightly coloured buildings in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, that the extensive, but generally understated, use of the new styles in London has been largely overlooked.

The other significant factor London's mid-war buildings are not concentrated in any single part of it. They are spread far and wide in all directions. There are no easy signposts to indicate the extensive presence of Art Deco and early Modernist buildings to be found in its vast landscape. Through the London Deco Project the vast extent of this architecture is being located and brought to public attention.

Are there any easy ways to identify Art Deco buildings?

There are certainly a few motifs that are quick markers of the Art Deco style, including certain animals, beautiful women, nudes, as well geometric forms. One of the most prevalent is the chevron, or 'V' shape. It is used in many different variations in buildings throughout London, a few of which can be seen here. Other common geometric motifs are lightning bolts, zig-zags, hexagons, octagons, spirals, and waves.

It is also important to realize that designers of this time were not simply reaching into a collection of pre-existing styles and motifs. There was a great deal of creativity in some cases, such as this interesting motif that mixes chevron and wave forms together.

Curves, and curving façades, are important features of Art Deco buildings, some of them with long continuous curves going, around corner lots such as this one in Brixton.