Nostalgia on the Great West Road - # 183
I mentioned the Gillette building earlier:
http://richmonduponthamesdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/07/british-highways-are-fantastic-karl.html
Today I'm showing a detail of another of the buildings in the "iconic cluster" of art deco offices and factories. It is currently occupied by J C Decaux, the advetising group.
They are all clustered around Brentford Railway Station, close to the Grand Union Canal (itself a piece of industrial history) and were joined recently by the gigantic modern glass, concrete and steel HQ building of Glaxo Smith Kline. For a while, in the late 1960s & 70s, these relics 1930s "art deco" were decayed and unloved, but fortunately they are now preserved.
It's a shame that they don't take as much care with modern architecture as they did in times gone past. Today it's all bout putting it up at the cheapest price and in the quickest time.
ReplyDeleteThe art pieces of the built environment.
ReplyDeleteI too remember the Firestone debacle - we're one down.
It's happening (in a different way) with the Battersee power station building which I passed in the train recently. Most of the back is off.
All you have to do is unweatherproof it - and the elements do the rest.
An interesting piece of architecture. I wonder how it looks inside, is it all brand-new or posess some kind of old fashion?
ReplyDeleteLove the art deco. A treasure that must be saved.
ReplyDelete-- steve buser
New Oleans Daily Photo
is 100 (posts) today.
This is an interesting series. I have enjoyed the pictures you are taking.
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln
Down Memory Lane
Great pic. I love the art deco style. One of my favourite buildings in this style is the Hoover building in Perivale:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.artofthestate.co.uk/london_photos/Tesco_Hoover_Building.htm
A beautiful creation, now a Tesco's!
I like the art deco style. Unfortunately a lot of buildings like that are abanadon and fall apart. There's nice art deco building in Croydon just beside Nestle, but it's empty and it's hard to find what was there before.
ReplyDeleteYes, the problem is with the changing fashions. What was beautiful, become ugly and the neautifule again! We must be careful before destroying, scrapping ....
ReplyDeleteJC Decaux also gives a partial answer to your question on my blog. The Paris biking organisation is handled by that group (there was a big struggle about it). (I don't know who made the bikes, but will perhaps find out.)