A Shop in Napier

The city of Napier, on the North Island of New Zealand, was severely damaged by an earthquake which struck the Hawkes Bay area on the morning of 3rd February 1931. Within the next few years a lot of the city was rebuilt in the style of the day, Art Deco.

This is a typical shop in Napier that may not appear in any of the books but it shows how modest buildings in Napier took on the deco style. The colours are a bit Miami but in a seaside town, albeit in the Southern Hemisphere, they work.

Each February an Art Deco Weekend is held in Napier. The programme for the 2010 event has been posted on the Napier Art Deco Trust website.

Round Room, The Carlu, Toronto

The highlight of Eaton's College Park store in Toronto was the Round Dining Room on the seventh floor. Now, the Round Room is the highlight of The Carlu which now occupies the seventh floor after a multi-million dollar restoration.

The room, like the rest of the seventh floor, was designed by Jacques Carlu and included large murals by his wife Natacha.

At regular points around the room their are rounded alcoves that can be used as casual seating areas or small stage areas.

Literally, though, the centre of attention is the fountain in the middle of the room consisting of layers of Lalique glass.

7th Floor Lobby, The Carlu, Toronto

Towards the end of October 1930, Eaton's opened their College Park store in Toronto with the undoubted highlight of the building the seventh floor.

Lady Eaton commissioned French designer Jacques Carlu to design the seventh floor. Carlu had designed the interiors of the great ocean liners Normandie and Ile de France which were particular favourites of Lady Eaton.

The seventh floor consisted of a huge lobby, circular dining room, an auditorium and a number of lounges and offices.

By the mid 1970s, the taste for these spaces had declined. Eaton's had moved to a new retail complex closer to downtown and the fabulous seventh floor was sealed up. What remained, although damaged and compromised from the original design, was protected by its designation as a national Historic Site by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The seventh floor remained empty for almost 30 years but after a multi-million dollar restoration it has emerged as The Carlu an Event Space like no other.

I was lucky to visit The Carlu as part of the Doors Open Toronto program in May 2009.

The three photos so far have been of the seventh floor lift lobby but this small office or lounge was also open for viewing.

I don't know if this was added during the restoration or was part of the original design. I don't think that matters.

It is a fabulous space which leads through to the Round Room.

A House in Camberwell

I adore the front of this house in Camberwell. I don't know if it is a deep verandah or an enormous porch behind that complete semi-circular arch.

On a hot November Saturday in Melbourne I look at this house and wonder if it is cool in there.

1255 Phillips Square, Montreal

1255 Phillips Square in downtown Montreal was designed by Spence and Mathias and constructed in 1949.

The overall design of the exterior is simple with streamline features. Curved stone walls and windows draw people towards the entrance.

Horizontal bands of windows emphasise the streamline design as does the curved corner at the major street intersection.

The high quality lobby is finished in cream, green and black colours with brass for the mailbox and the shop windows and doors.

Storage Depot, Asmara

I was intrigued by this amazing building from the first time I saw it.

The facade is rounded, in fact it is a completely circular building with a central core and roadway within the structure.

The two storey high frame around the doorway is striking but in the end even that is dwarfed by the height of the monumental entrances either side of the administration block.

In Asmara - Africa's Secret Modernist City by Denison, Yu Ren and Gebremedhin the building is identified as originally being the Spinelli Store when it was built in the late 1930s.

From their information it appears that Spinelli was a local businessman who owned a nearby villa. It is now the Africa Pension and that is where I stayed when I visited Asmara in 2003.

Reference:
Asmara: Africa's Secret Modernist City - Edward Denison, Guang Yu Ren & Naigzy Gebremedhim

Warwick Court, St Kilda East

I absolutely love these four garages at Warwick Court in St Kilda East. It is lovely to see the original doors still intact. I reckon I could just fit my car into one of the garages but I'm not sure I could open the car door to get out once I was in there.

Dominion Court, Durban

Dominion Court in the Grey St or Indian area of Durban harks back to South Africa being part of the British Empire. A nearby building is called Empire Court.

The building has several Art Deco features. A flagpole with a nice example of a rule of three decoration at the base.

The central panel below the second storey balconies bears a stylised sunburst that could also represent the Union Flag of the United Kingdom. The bays either side are decorated with a tapering horizontal stepped design.

Dominion Court has seen better days but with a bit of work could become a very stylish building once again.