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Crowds
flocked to Brighton during the 1930s in search of sun, pleasure
and seaside fun. Before the days of cheap foreign breaks, the British
seaside holiday had become extremely popular and desireable, with
over 15 million choosing to spend their annual holiday at the British
seaside by the late 1930s. Open-air swimming had become highly fashionable
and the 1920s and 30s saw the construction of numerous outdoor swimming
pools and Lidos as well as seaside cafes, hotels and piers. The
south coast is still home to several examples of British seaside
architecture. Embassy Court is often associated with the rising
'moderne' style of seaside architecture from this period. Follow
these links to find out more about: Bathing
Belles in peril; Lasting Lidos Thoroughly
moderne city Bathing
and the seaside Lido during the 1930s Wells Coates was one of the first architects in 20th century Britain to question whether traditional building designs, methods and technologies were still appropriate. Lifestyles were changing and there were new technologies that made it possible to build in new ways.
On the Continent, European modernists, including Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Ernst May, founded the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Modernes (CIAM) to further the cause of modernism in architecture. In March 1933, Coates was amongst the founding members of the British chapter of CIAM, the Modern Architectural Research (or MARS) Group. Later that year, Coates attended the famous CIAM 4 Congress. There, on a ship moored off Athens, Congress members worked to define the principles of modernist town planning: the Charte d'Athenes was the result.The construction of Embassy Court began in 1934 and was completed in 1936; the result a landmark of modernism in British architecture. It stands as a tangible expression of Coates' contribution to the international debate about how architecture should be designed. Alongside him, forming the British contribution to this transformation of architecture, were Berthold Lubetkin, Maxwell Fry, Eric Mendelsohn, Serge Chermayeff and Connell, Ward and Lucas; all of whom designed landmarks of British Modernism; many along the coast of the south of England. In 1937, the Museum of Modern Art in New York featured Embassy Court in its seminal exhibition 'Modern Architecture in England'. Its curators, and many observers in Europe, believed that under the leadership of Coates and his fellow MARS Group members, Britain was at the forefront of the future development of modernism; then the Second World War intervened. Nevertheless, Embassy Court and two of Coates' earlier buildings - Lawn Road Flats in Hampstead (completed in 1934) and Sunspan Bungalow in Welwyn (completed in 1935) - remain as monuments to Coates' pioneering efforts to introduce modernist housing designs to Britain. All three of these projects were hampered by contractual, financial and construction difficulties, in part because they involved designs, materials and building methods that were so unfamiliar. Fundamental to Coates' housing designs was his idea that living spaces should be thought of as modules, or units, that might be assembled in a number of ways to form different buildings. The interiors were carefully planned to accommodate the activities of modern life: bathing, dressing, dining, relaxing, and socialising. Coates
gave priority to movement within domestic space. He disliked traditional
furniture; in his own flat he preferred floor cushions to bulky
sofas. Wherever possible, he included fixed cupboards and shelves.
He believed that, ideally, modern life should be mobile and that
inherited furniture was an encumbrance. All people really needed
were crockery, bed linen, clothes, books and music, things easily
carried from dwelling to dwelling. Embassy Court remains a rare
example of a building designed with Coates' nomadic ideals in mind.
Away from the trials of London, well-heeled commuters and locals, many celebrities, were at the centre of the pleasures that Brighton offered. Alongside the town's famous regency terraces, the exuberant Royal Pavilion and the two Victorian piers, Embassy Court continued the celebration of seaside vitality. Amongst
the more famous residents known to have lived at Embassy Court were
the actors Laurence Olivier, Rex Harrison and Diana Dors and the
writer Graham Greene, whose novel Brighton Rock helped establish
his reputation as a significant 20th century novelist. No doubt,
these famous residents attracted famous friends. It is easy to imagine
Embassy Court, in its heyday, as the setting for a Noel Coward play.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the freehold title passed through the hands of a number of landlords. Preferring to short-term gains at the expense of long-term stewardship, Embassy Court slid into disrepair and leaseholders discovered that their maintenance contributions had been misappropriated. This was the beginning of a series of complex legal battles that was to last ten years. In 1997 the Crown seized the freehold and, in 1998, awarded it to one of the small group of campaigning leaseholders who transferred it to Bluestorm Ltd., a company founded by the group. With help from Brighton & Hove Council, Bluestorm commissioned a feasibility study. The result was better than many expected. Embassy Court was still structurally sound and not beyond affordable repair. In March 2003, the Courts ordered the previous freeholder to pay maintenance arrears to Bluestorm, finally putting them in a position to move ahead. In August 2003, they instructed Conran & Partners to lead the restoration project. In February 2004 the previous freeholder lost an appeal against the 2003 judgment, and final preparations for the Embassy Court Refurbishment Project were made by Bluestorm. The fight to save their homes and Embassy Court had finally been won. Work has already begun and is expected to be complete in 2005. Read Bluestorm's February 2004 press release See what's happening right now with the Refurbishment Project A series of scheduling and costing exercises have been carried out, and work is beginning. It will be no simple patch-and-paint exercise. Where the steel has become exposed it will have to be cleaned, sealed, and re-coated in concrete before the building can at last get a lick of fresh cream paint. Services, such as the communal heating system, will have to be replaced and so will the steel windows, with identical double-glazed versions. Our 'What's happening now' page can keep you up to date with plans and current progress. The revamp of the building is a golden opportunity to bring Embassy Court into the 21st century. Its architectural status requires it to be restored within strict heritage guidelines. However, it is still a living building and, whilst maintaining the integrity of the modernist design, Bluestorm are keen to look at innovative design solutions to its refurbishment. Embassy Court should remain an exciting and challenging building as well as an icon of 20th century design. There are many areas within Embassy Court which should be sensitively developed and open to public access and use. The Friends of Embassy Court are working with Bluestorm to see that this is done.
The entrance foyer would suit itself to an exhibition area, not least because beneath the current surface of its walls is the original, once-famous McKnight-Kauffer mural that should be restored for everyone to enjoy. The Friends are now working with the Faculty of Arts and Architecture at the University of Brighton to establish an archive of material on Wells Coates, Embassy Court, his other works and other examples of modernism in architecture, design and art. Their hope is that one day this archive might be housed in Embassy Court. The Friends hope, too, to acquire a flat and decorate and furnish it as it would have been decorated and furnished in the 1930s, with originals or replicas of furnishings and appliances designed by Wells Coates and his contemporaries. This flat might house the archive and would also constitute a museum. The sun terraces at the top of the building, unused since the war, and the old luggage room and other areas in the basement, also present opportunities for developing spaces that serve both the residents of Embassy Court and visitors to the building. Now is the time to look at the building beneath the decay and to imagine the building it once was and the building it could be again; one that expresses a vision consistent with its architect's ideals. The realization of that vision will require the support of local people and also of fans of the Modern Movement everywhere. With
years of crippling litigation behind it, Embassy Court can again
become the healthy and harmonious community envisioned by Wells
Coates, and a splendid architectural statement to be enjoyed by
all. |
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Long
banks of windows and balconies connected interior spaces with the
vista of sea and beach beyond. Interconnecting rooms in light colours,
unadorned walls and cork flooring created a sense of openness. Central
services freed residents from the burden of domestic tasks. Sun
parlours gave them a sense of well-being. 
