Ideal House, Art Deco office building in Westminster, London, England
Ideal House is a seven-story office building in Westminster, London, located at the corner of Great Marlborough Street and Argyll Street. The exterior is entirely clad in black granite with gilded inlays inspired by Egyptian decorative motifs, visible on all sides of the corner.
The building was completed in 1929 as the London headquarters of the National Radiator Company, an American firm expanding into the British market. It brought an American approach to commercial architecture directly into the heart of the West End.
The black granite and gold corner facade makes this building one of the most eye-catching along the stretch between Oxford Street and Carnaby Street. Visitors passing through this busy part of central London often stop to look at the decorative inlays up close.
The building is within walking distance of Oxford Circus station and sits at a corner that is easy to approach from either street. The full facade is visible from the pavement, so there is no need to enter the building to see the exterior details.
The design closely follows the American Radiator Building in New York, which also uses a black and gold exterior to make the structure stand out in an urban setting. Both buildings were designed by the same architect, Raymond Hood, which explains the direct visual link between them.
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