Heavily influenced by European and American architecture, Art Deco’s strong lines and sexy curves made it one of the most glamorous and iconic styles of the 20th century.

Marrying elegance with functional modernism, the geometric principles influenced all cultural outlets, from architecture and interior design, through clothing and jewellery to visual arts such as film.

“With the use of new found materials, Art Deco crept into everyone’s way of life,” says Paul Nicholls-Whiteman from Art Deco Decadance . “From aluminium, stainless steel, lacquer, bakelite, chrome and inlaid wood, these new found elements were and are to be seen in sunburst and fountain designs.”

The streamlined buildings of the period can be still admired all over the world, in countries as diverse as Cuba, India and Australia, and thanks to preservation regulations, stunning Art Deco structures also remain focal points of our local skyline, acting as constant reminders of early-century glamour.

You only have to look up to see the influence of this style on our city.

“When walking up North Street, look above the shop fronts and it’s basically a mini history of Brighton architecture,” Paul says.

“At the top of North Street there are two examples of Art Deco.  The building on the right hand side is a new build with an Art Deco influence but facing you and taking it around to Western Road are a block of flats.  Cross over to the mall and take a good look at the arcade, note the church-like arch.

“Walking further up Western Road there are still one or two roof tops that are of an Art Deco design, but it is not until you reach Primark that Grecian-style Art Deco leaps from roof.  The design here it is simply magnificent.”

One of Paul’s favourite Art Deco structures in Brighton is the war memorial between North Street and St James Street, built in the early 1920′s.  “The elegance and simplicity of this is very moving, the added water dimension adds a poignant reminder of those lost at sea.  Just across the road by the Pavilion you also find late Art Deco bus stops, curved to perfection.”

Here we celebrate three of Sussex’s other famous Art Deco offerings.

Embassy Court

Embassy Court, 12 storeys of curved concrete Art Deco history,  stands proud on Brighton seafront. Many of the flats in the block boast covered balconies while panoramic windows and stepped open-air ledges on the upper levels offer stunning views over the ocean. The block’s signage and flat numbers are also typical of the style.

Built between 1934 and 1936 by celebrated Canadian designer and architect Wells Coates, Embassy Court was a status building, incorporating the first penthouse suite in Britain. Fittingly, it was home to the rich and famous, including comedian Max Miller, ballet dancer Rex Harrington and novelist Keith Waterhouse.

However, harsh winds, sea spray and pollution from the passing cars left the building rust-stained and in ill-repair from the 1960s onwards, marking a dramatic fall from grace for the once-magnificent tower.

Fortunately, major restoration works completed in 2006 have brought Embassy Court back to its former glory and tours detailing the history of the building as part of the Brighton Festival this year proved very popular.
Embassy Court is a Grade II* listed building and for good reason. Historians recognise it not just as a landmark on Brighton’s seafront but as a landmark in British architectural history.

Saltdean Lido

The 1930s truly was the golden age for lido design. Swimming became a popular pastime and coinciding with the popularity of Art Deco design, Saltdean Lido, like many built at the time, offers a stunning example of the style.

While features of the lido, such as a boating pool, have disappeared over the decades, the two storey building, with its central curved structure evoking images of fortified look-out posts, remains intact. The wind-break ‘wings’ on either side also retain their original grandeur, accommodating changing rooms on the ground floor and sun terraces above.

The lido was designed by celebrated architects R.W.H Jones and Charles Neville and was influenced by the De La Warr Pavilion where Neville was married. It was highly regarded at the time and in October 1938 in the ‘Building’ journal it was said to be “certainly one of the really first-class designs of its type in the country”.

After it fell into disrepair following the war, Butlins attempted to buy the site for development in 1958 but the application was rejected by the Ministry of Housing.

In 1998 the restored lido was reopened but now faces a fresh threat as plans were announced earlier this year to fill in the swimming pool and develop the site to create 102 flats.

A campaign, Save Saltdean Lido, was set up to protect the site earlier this year, and in July the group submitted an application to English Heritage, asking for the listing of the Lido to be reviewed and upgraded to a Grade II*. They are currently developing a business plan to demonstrate how the site can be run as a Community Interest Company, just as many other thriving lidos are across the country.

The Ocean Hotel, Saltdean

Making Saltdean a real destination for holidaymakers in the pre-war years, R.W.H Jones was also behind the design of town’s grand Ocean Hotel.

Opened in 1938, the hotel site hosted 344 bedrooms, a dining hall that could seat 300 people, an extravagant ballroom and an outdoor swimming pool, all across four acres of land. An old postcard, stating that the hotel is only 12 minutes from Brighton Station, also boasts of an “American Bar, Exercise Room and Hairdressing Salons”.

Like the lido, the hotel’s main building was crescent-shaped, with thin rows of glass windows forming its delicate features and curved wings stretching out from the central entrance structure.

Six further buildings also housed holidaymakers during the summer months, closing in the winter when the public rooms and bedrooms of the main hotel served the diminished visitor numbers.

During the war, the hotel was used by the Auxiliary Fire Service and later became a fire college used for training.

Bought by Butlins in 1952, the building re-opened as a hotel in 1953 and remained as such, under the Grand Hotel Group from 1999, until 2005. That year planning permission was granted to refurbish the Grade II listed main building to house apartments and commercial and communal areas and for the demolishment of the remaining buildings to build flats on the site.

A common misconception – the De La Warr Pavilion

The glass-fronted De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-On-Sea, with its curved central block, and steel railings and smooth white posts outlining the structure, looks to be built in a similar style to many of the Art Deco buildings in the South East. However, it was actually one of the UK‘s first public buildings built in the Modernist style.

The Pavilion was commissioned by the ninth Earl De La Warr in 1935 and built by leading player in the modernist movement Erich Mendelson, with his love of concrete, industrial features and strong, clean lines evident in the design.

The building’s purpose was to provide accessible culture and leisure for the people in the area in order to regenerate the economy of the town and the surrounding region. But during the Second World War it was used by the military to defend the coastline – indeed Spike Milligan served here – and suffered damage to its foundations when the adjacent Metropole hotel was destroyed by German bombers.

After changes were made to the Pavilion inconsistent with the original design, the De La Warr Pavilion was granted protective Grade I listed Building status in 1986 and in 2002 it was granted £6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund & the Arts Council, to restore it to its original glory, to be used as a contemporary arts centre.

Get the look

While you may not be able to change the exterior design of your home, you can inject a bit of Art Deco elegance to the interior. Visit the Brighton and Hove art deco fairs at Hove Town Hall, browse the vintage offerings of Kemptown, go specialist shopping at art deco sofas and enlist the help of Art Deco Decadence.

Words: Jo-ann Fortune & Elizabeth Danon

Images: Embassy Court by Flickr user sam.romilly, Saltdean Lido by Conran & Partners, Ocean Hotel postcard from Douglas d’Enno’s personal collection and De La Warr Pavilion courtesy of www.dlwp.com.