Adelaide House
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
The main front from Adelaide Place
Steel-framed 11-storey 1920s office building next to the Thames at London Bridge
When completed in 1925 the building was the tallest in London, at 43m. It contains offices on nine floors above ground, with storage on two floors below ground, and a warehouse at one end for goods arriving from the river.
The building incorporated modern features such as central ventilation, an internal mail system and a roof-top golf course.
Influenced by Chicago skyscrapers, the architect's decision to move away from the classical style was innovative. The structural steel frame is clad with Portland stone and grey granite facing. The façade has a strong vertical emphasis with elements of Egyptian and Greek ornamentation.
The low entrance has black marble pseudo-doric columns below carved decorations. Metal stars which feature in the entrance gates are continued as decorative elements above the windows on the main façade. A large coved cornice is set below the top storey.
Data
- Begun: 1924
- Completed: 1925
- Sector: Office
- Address: London Bridge Approach , London, EC4R 9HA, United Kingdom
Tags 
1920s, Art deco, Decoration, Egyptian, Grade II listed, Office, Ornament, Riverside, Skyscraper, Tall building
Materials
Professional Team
- Architect: Sir John Burnet & Partners
- Project architects: D Raeside, Sir John Burnet, Thomas S Tait
- Client:
