FRIENDS OF EMBASSY COURT HOMEPAGE

Embassy Court, a landmark on Brighton's seafront

Once a famous beauty - and home to famous actors, writers, musicians and artists - Embassy Court remains a prominent feature on Brighton's seafront. As you walk west from the Palace Pier towards Hove, you pass the crumbling skeleton of West Pier and cannot help noticing Embassy Court to your right. It is on the opposite side of King's Road from the winged Peace Statue.

An 11-story apartment block, Embassy Court is taller than its neighbours, far more modern but in far worse shape. It is not uncommon to see pedestrians stopped in their tracks, looking aghast and pointing as they exclaim that it looks as if it has suffered from years of bombardment.

Built between 1934 and 1936, Embassy Court should be a pale cream, except that paint, plaster and slabs of concrete have peeled from its sides and some sections are grey or black with soot that has accumulated over many years. There is a temporary canopy over the pavement, to protect passers-by from falling debris. Window frames and balcony rails are chipped and rusted. Windows are broken and patched, some with sheets of plywood.

In his book Brave New City, Anthony Seldon, historian, author and headmaster of Brighton College, calls Embassy Court one of the city's ten best twentieth century buildings. Then he goes on to recommend, "Knock down Embassy Court, Hilton West Pier and other excrescences along the seafront and inside the city. Hold a series of parties to celebrate."

That would be a tragic mistake - and illegal. Embassy Court is a Grade II* listed building and for good reason. The head of English Heritage has called it "the second most important building in Brighton, after the Royal Pavilion." Architectural historians recognize it not just as a landmark on Brighton's seafront but as a landmark in British architectural history.

Embassy Court was amongst the first modernist buildings in Britain. Its architect, Wells Coates, was at the forefront of the Modern Movement in architecture and design in Britain.

Born and raised in Japan, the son of Methodist missionaries, Coates was deeply affected by Japanese design: its simplicity, its capacity to make the best possible use of natural features (topography, sunlight, shadow and views) and to make the most efficient use of materials and interior spaces. Wells Coates introduced other architects to Japanese design ideas; they were consistent with the Modernist motto, "form follows function." Embassy Court is the perfect expression of that ideal.

Some who live in Embassy Court consider their flats to be works of genius. They cannot imagine how anyone could make better use of space. Even in the smallest flats there are windows at front and back, entrances to outside walkways and doors onto balconies. The flats are private, bright and airy and they seem impossibly large, given their actual dimensions. Most have at least one large lounge or bedroom that can double as an office or studio, so they make good "live-work spaces." There is nothing being built today that fits the 21st century lifestyle better.

Referring to Embassy Court, Wells Coates said, "Old ideas have been discarded and a new building has arisen to greet a new age that thinks of happiness in terms of health."

It was revolutionary when it was built and it expresses a vision that is as valid today as ever it was.

Embassy Court looks across to France - where Wells Coates was inspired by the work of Le Corbusier. It also makes a bow to the buildings of Japan, where he spent his early life. If Brighton is, as Anthony Seldon says, a Brave New City, then Embassy Court should stand as a symbol of its courage, its daring to reach out to the whole world in much the same way that the Royal Pavilion did. The Pavilion's designers, too, looked to the East for new ideas and, by bringing them to Britain, opened people's minds, expanded their horizons and enriched their lives.

No one is about to knock down Embassy Court and start dancing on its remains. The freehold and leasehold owners, and the tenants are determined to save it and they have friends, the Friends of Embassy Court.

We invite you to become a Friend - or at least a supporter who cheers us on. Help us to restore one of the most beautiful, well-designed and historically significant buildings in Britain. Once restored, we hope that Embassy Court will offer exciting public spaces, too. To learn more about the building and its possibilities and how you can become involved, please explore our website further.