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The De La Warr Pavilion is a grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. [1]
The Modernist [2] [3] and International Style [4] [5] building was designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff and constructed in 1935. [6] Although sometimes claimed to be the first major Modernist public building in Britain, [7] it was preceded by some months by the Dutch-influenced Hornsey Town Hall.[ citation needed ]
In 2005, after an extensive restoration, the De La Warr Pavilion reopened as a contemporary arts centre, encompassing one of the largest galleries on the south coast of England. [6] [8]
On 18 February 2022, the bandstand, added early in the 21st century, was destroyed by strong winds from Storm Eunice. [9]
The new seafront building was the result of an architectural competition initiated by Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, after whom the building was named.
The 9th Earl, a committed socialist and Mayor of Bexhill, persuaded Bexhill council to develop the site as a public building. [10] The competition was announced in the Architects' Journal in February 1934, with a programme that specified an entertainment hall to seat at least 1,500 people; a 200-seat restaurant; a reading room; and a lounge. Initially, the budget for the project was limited to £50,000, although this was later raised to £80,000. Run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the competition attracted over 230 entrants, many of them practising in the Modernist style.
The architects selected for the project, Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, were leading figures in the Modern Movement. The aesthetics employed in the International Style proved especially suited to the building, tending towards streamlined, industrially-influenced designs, often with expansive metal-framed windows, and eschewing traditional brick and stonework in favour of concrete and steel construction. Amongst the building's most innovative features was its use of a welded steel frame construction, pioneered by structural engineer Felix Samuely. Construction of the De La Warr Pavilion began in January 1935. The building was opened on 12 December of the same year by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).
During World War II, the De La Warr Pavilion was used by the military. Bexhill and Sussex in general were vulnerable if the Germans decided to mount an invasion (Operation Sea Lion). Amongst those who served at the pavilion during the war was Spike Milligan, later a noted comedian. The building suffered minor damage to its foundations when the Metropole hotel adjacent to the building's western side was destroyed by German bombers.
After the War, management of the pavilion was taken over by Bexhill Corporation (which later became Rother District Council). In the 1970s and 1980s, changes were made to the building, many of which were inconsistent with its original design and aesthetic. [10] Lack of funds also resulted in an ongoing degradation of the building's fabric. [10] It was used as a venue for indoor car boot sales and the exterior lost its original signage. [10]
In 1986, the De La Warr Pavilion was granted a Grade I listed building status, [10] essentially protecting the building from further inappropriate alteration. 1989 saw the formation of the Pavilion Trust, a group dedicated to protecting and restoring the building. Playwright David Hare notioned that the site be used as an art gallery as opposed to an expected privatised redevelopment. [11] In 2002, after a long application process, the De La Warr Pavilion was granted £6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council of England, to restore the building and turn it into a contemporary arts centre. Work began in 2004 on the De La Warr Pavilion's regeneration and a transfer of the building's ownership from Rother District Council to the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust. [10] On 15 October 2005, after an 18-month long extensive programme of restoration, the De La Warr Pavilion officially reopened as a contemporary arts centre, encompassing one of the largest galleries on the south coast of England. [6] [8] [12]
A small collection of archival materials related to the De La Warr Pavilion is collected in the Serge Chermayeff Papers held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in New York City.
It is the intention of the promoters that the building should be simple in design, and suitable for a holiday resort in the south of England. Character in design can be obtained by the use of large window spaces, terraces and canopies. No restriction as to style of architecture will be imposed but buildings must be simple, light in appearance and attractive, suitable for a Holiday Resort. Heavy stonework is not desirable [...] Modern steel framed or ferro-cement construction may be adopted.
— The 9th Earl De La Warr on the specification for the De La Warr Pavilion
Delighted to hear that Bexhill has emerged from barbarism at last, but I shall not give it a clean bill of civilisation until all my plays are performed there once a year at least.
— George Bernard Shaw on hearing of the De La Warr Pavilion's opening
De La Warr Pavilion ... a fine modern building with absolutely no architectural merit at all. It was opened just in time to be bombed. The plane that dropped it was said to have been chartered by the Royal Institute of Architects, piloted by Sir Hugh Casson with John Betjeman as bomb aimer.
For Rother District Council
De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust
East Sussex is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Brighton and Hove, and the county town is Lewes.
Bexhill-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings and Eastbourne.
The year 1935 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr,, styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915, was a British politician. He was the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party and became a government minister at the age of 23.
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.
Erich Mendelsohn ; 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas. Mendelsohn was a pioneer of the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne architecture, notably with his 1921 Mossehaus design.
Arthur Coney Tunnard, later known as Christopher Tunnard, was a Canadian-born landscape architect, garden designer, city-planner, and author of Gardens in the Modern Landscape (1938).
Serge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian-born British architect, industrial designer, writer, and co-founder of several architectural societies, including the American Society of Planners and Architects.
Events from the year 1935 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Political events included a general election in November and changes in the leadership of both the Conservative and Labour parties.
Alan Powers is a British teacher, researcher and writer on twentieth-century architecture and design.
Geoffrey Bazeley (1906–1989) was a British Modernist architect, born in Penzance, Cornwall into a family of shipowners and traders. In 1935 he was commissioned to build Tregannick House in Cornwall and set up his own practice there. Tregannick has been described as "one of the best Modern Movement houses in the west of England."
Shrubs Wood is a privately owned, Grade II* listed, Art Deco country house in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England. Built between 1933 and 1934, Shrubs Wood was designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff. It is one of only two residential properties designed during their short partnership.
Polo Osvaldo Ernesto Piatti is an Argentine neo-romantic composer, concert pianist and conductor based in the United Kingdom. He is one of very few high-profile international musicians concentrating exclusively on the creation, performance and promotion of melodic, universally appealing classical music. His compositions are performed all over the world for their evocative and passionate character. Considered a pioneer performer of classical piano improvisations since his youth, he toured Europe, Asia, North and South America premiering his own works as a soloist, performing with international orchestras. Piatti is a member of the Royal Society Of Musicians Of Great Britain, the Ivors Academy and the British Music Society among others.
Bentley Wood, also known as the House at Halland, is a Modernist house designed by the Russian émigré architect Serge Chermayeff and built in a rural location in the Low Weald in Sussex with views to the South Downs. In the Architects' Journal, Charles Herbert Reilly described it on completion in 1938 as "a regular Rolls-Royce of a house". It is considered to be one of the most influential modern houses of the period. It become a Grade II listed building in March 2020.
Tai Shani is a British artist. Shani uses performance, film, photography, sculptural installations and experimental texts to explore forgotten histories and stories. She is currently a Tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art. Shani was born in London.
The International Composers Festival is a regular event comprising a series of concerts, lectures and networking opportunities created with the purpose to promote and showcase classical music that is tuneful, universally appealing and created solely by living composers attending the concerts. The festival was founded in 2012 by composer, concert pianist and artistic director Polo Piatti and the festival patrons are composers Nigel Hess and Debbie Wiseman OBE. The first festival took place on 24-25 August 2012 and subsequent festivals took place in 2013, 2015 and 2018 always in Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, UK. The repertoire encompasses works especially selected from submissions from all over the world and includes big orchestral compositions, film scores, computer gaming music, televisions themes, chamber and dance music usually performed in six concerts over a long weekend.
Bexhill Town Hall is a municipal building in the London Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Rother District Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Modern: The Modern Movement in Britain is a non-fiction book by Alan Powers, first published in 2005 by Merrell, about Modernism in British architecture, mainly focusing on the period between 1930 and 1940. The bulk of the book is a gazetteer of 60 architects or architectural practices, including both famous figures and lesser-known ones. The book received broadly positive reviews, with its wide coverage, and particularly its wide coverage of women architects of the period, being generally appreciated. Some reviewers criticise the inclusion of modern buildings lying outside the definition of Modernist. A further critique is that the analysis lacks depth. The book is illustrated with colour photographs by Morley von Sternberg.
Birkin Haward was a British Modernist architect, antiquarian, author and artist, described as "one of the foremost post-war regional architects" by Historic England. In his early architectural career, he worked at the practice of Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff in London, where he collaborated on two important Modernist buildings, 64 Old Church Street, Chelsea, and the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea.