apartment block – Global Art Deco

The Chrysler Building

One of a number of elegant, early modern skyscrapers that can still be found in New York, the Chrysler building, long held by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, has recently received some good news. New York global developer Tishman Speyer has now taken over the lease and plans on redeveloping parts of it as office space, as well as putting the shine back on the exterior.

The Chrysler Building, was the world’s tallest building at 1,046 feet for almost a year until it was overtaken by the Empire State Building at 1,454 feet on May 1, 1931. While this status was only for a short period of time, the Chrysler Building has kept its popularity primarily from its elegant profile and the crown of curvaceous setbacks at the top with their fantastic triangular windows.

In New York, the Chrysler building, long held by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, has recently received some good news. New York global developer Tishman Speyer has now taken over the lease and plans on redeveloping parts of it as office space, as well as putting the shine back on the exterior.

Avenida Guerra Junqueiro 2, Areeiro, Lisbon

A delightful seven storey apartment block located at Avenida Guerra Junqueiro 2 in central Lisbon, in the Areeiro district, which was formerly known as the São João de Deus district. With the exception of the first floor the apartments all have central window bays with curving corner balconies. The ground floor is plain, and taken by Calzedonia, an Italian clothing store.

A stack of Art Deco balconies and bay windows

Rua Carlos Mardel 59, Lisbon

A carefully balanced exterior

A rather jazzy central Lisbon apartment block from the diagonals on the main entrance to the angular features of the façade. These include the angled bay windows up the centre of the building and the small, angled balconies accompanying them, along with the white horizontal bars running across the exterior.

Chevrons merging into diamond forms

An angled façade viewed from an angle

Calle Xativa 21, Valencia

This 1930s apartment and commercial use building is located in the elegant Sant Francesc area of central Valencia on Calle Xativa, across from the Valencia North train station. It folds around a corner lot and has upper divisions, though these are not fully stepped in. There are some excellent Art Deco carved relief panels on the horizontal interstices of the windows. One of these depicts a modern sun god with a gear wheel representing the sun.

An exuberant, flowing image of a sun god

Anscombe Flats, Wellington

Curves galore on this pleasing apartment block

Located at 212 Oriental Parade, the Anscombe Flats were named for the prominent and prolific New Zealand architect Edmund Anscombe. He purchased the land in 1933, designed the building, and the apartments were completed in 1937. Anscombe planned to sell the apartments and live in the top ﬂoor penthouse. He lived there until he passed away in 1948 at age 78. A spectacular New Zealand example of Streamlined Moderne, it has curved corners and moulded window hoods at the front. A big thank you to Taika Kyriak for providing these photos.

Chancery House & Chancery Park, Dublin

Chancery House has a variety of exterior surfaces

Dublin has many fine Art Deco buildings, and this residence, accompanied by an adjacent public park, is a fine example. Chancery House is a four-storey 1935 apartment block which features curved corners, curved overhanging eaves, flat roofs and a channelled render along the top floor. Overall the building has a clear, horizontal emphasis. Beside it is Chancery Park which has a delightful kiosk with a geometric window grate and a stepped parapet for a square clock. Curving top hexagonal gates to the park, and apartments, are another feature.

The man responsible for all of this was Herbert George Simms, a London-born architect who moved to Dublin in 1924 after studying architecture at the University of Liverpool. By 1925 he was working for the Dublin Corporation where he eventually became responsible for designing and constructing 17,000 new residences, thereby alleviating Dublin’s chronic housing problem. In addition to British contemporary architects he was also inspired by the Dutch, in particular Michel de Klerk in Amsterdam and J.P. Oud in Rotterdam.

Chancery Park & Chancery House are in the northwest of Dublin, Chancery Park at Charles Street West and Chancery House at 1-36 Chancery Place/Chancery Street, and Charles Street West. Global Art Deco is very grateful to Ian Byrne for providing these photos.

Entrance to Chancery House with bronze plaques commemorating Herbert Simms

Rua Abade Faria 52, Lisbon

We could certainly label this Lisbon apartment building as being Streamline Moderne with its racy, curving balconies. The street it is located on is named after a fascinating character known as Abade Faria, or Abbot Faria, born in 1756 in the Portuguese Indian colony of Goa as José Custódio de Faria. Aside from being a man of the cloth he was a revolutionary, and also one of the first to study hypnotism.

Apartments (2), São Paulo

Here are two Art Deco apartment blocks found in the older part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. First, the pink one features continuous curving balconies and some nice fenestration to the right with coloured glass and porthole windows. The white building below is in Japantown in the Liberdade district, situated on Rua Galvão Bueno. It has curvy corners and balconies, and steps in gradually at the top.

Devonshire Court, Durban

Global Art Deco is pleased to have another excellent guest post from the Durban Art Deco Society. Durban is South Africa’s third largest city and has many fine Art Deco buildings.

Devonshire Court is located on the former Victoria Embankment, now known as Margaret Mncadi Avenue. It received a fresh coat of paint over the last year and now has a bright green and yellow colour scheme suitable for an Art Deco apartment tower. Constructed in 1938, the building was designed by William Barboure, who also helped design the 1934 Surrey Mansions together with WE Langton. One unique feature of Devonshire Court is a tunnel for motor vehicles under the south side of the building, which leads through to Devonshire Place. In the tunnel and at the rear of the building is a motor vehicle service workshop. The workshop is no longer in operation but the signage “Carburettors” and “Servicing” is still painted on the pillars of the tunnel. The entrance to the building is original, complete with terrazzo flooring.

Chevron forms at the sides of the main entrance

Tejidos Marina, Valencia

A ten-storey curving corner building capped on the curve with a lantern, its lower floors are used for commercial purposes with apartments above. The ground floor is taken up by the fabric retailer Tejidos Marina, founded in 1953, some years after this building was constructed. It is located in the centre of Valencia at Avenida del Oeste 27 (originally known as Avenida Barón de Cárcer) at the corner of Calle de Adresadors.