Dorset House, Art Deco apartment building in Marylebone, London.
Dorset House is an Art Deco residential building in brick and stone that occupies an entire block at Gloucester Place and is visible from multiple street sides. The structure features clean geometric lines, stepped facades, and decorative reliefs that clearly mark each floor level.
Completed in 1935, it arose during a period when London was reshaping its image through modern residential complexes. The building represents the shift from traditional housing methods to a contemporary approach for urban living in the interwar period.
The building marks a shift toward modern apartment living in London, where entire families could occupy compact but well-designed spaces instead of scattered rooms across different streets. Walking past it today, you notice how this approach shaped the way people live in cities.
The residential building sits prominently on Marylebone Road where multiple entrances provide clear access points from the street. Visitors should know this is an active private residence, so exploring is best limited to the exterior facade and architectural details.
Sculptor Eric Gill created the distinctive relief figures on the facade that remain clearly visible today, showing how carefully this complex was planned. These reliefs were more than mere decoration, they gave the building an artistic identity that went beyond typical residential architecture.
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