Unilever House
| Unilever House | |
|---|---|
Unilever House seen from Blackfriars Bridge
|
|
| Former names | Lever House |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical Art Deco |
| Location |
Blackfriars London, EC4 United Kingdom |
| Address | 100 Victoria Embankment |
| Coordinates | 51°30′42″N 0°06′17″W / 51.511654°N 0.104671°W |
| Current tenants | Unilever, Bristows, Royal Mail |
| Construction started | 1929 |
| Completed | 1933 |
| Renovated | 1977–83; 2004–07 |
| Owner | Unilever |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 385,500ft² |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | James Lomax-Simpson |
| Architecture firm | Sir John Burnet & Partners |
| Other designers |
Thomas S. Tait Sculptures: William Reid Dick Gilbert Ledward Walter Gilbert Eric Gill |
| Renovating team | |
| Renovating firm | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates |
| Other designers | Pringle Brandon |
Unilever House is a Grade II listed office building in the Neoclassical Art Deco style, located on New Bridge Street, Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars, London. The building has a tall, curving frontage which overlooks Blackfriars Bridge on the north bank of the River Thames.
The site of Unilever House was previously occupied by Bridewell Palace, a residence of Henry VIII, which later became a poorhouse and prison. These buildings were destroyed in 1864 making way for De Keyser's Royal Hotel. In 1920, Lord Leverhulme leased the site to build the London headquarters of his soap manufacturing company Lever Brothers, which became Unilever in 1930. Construction did not commence until 1929.
The building design and construction is thought to be a collaboration between James Lomax-Simpson, a member of the Unilever Board, and John James Burnet and Thomas S. Tait, partners in the firm of Sir John Burnet and Partners. However, there is some uncertainty over the credit for the design; a note by Simpson claims exclusive credit, suggesting that Burnet and Tait only approved the final design. Burnet and Tait exhibited the design as a joint work with Simpson at the Royal Academy, and the drawings held at the City of London Record Office are signed by Burnet and Tait alone.
John James Burnet, although active in this project, was retiring around this time due to ill health, and Tait, a leading practitioner of modern architecture, worked on aspects of the building design.
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