Monday 9 December 2019

Art Deco - Architectural Punk?

Its fascinating to see how architecture reflects the ideas of the time. In the conflicting emotions following the First World War, where many designers sought the security of traditional forms and safe ideas, a movement grew which was bold and shocking, rejecting traditional forms and looking instead towards a future where design was lacking in ornamentation, was more affordable being geared towards mass production and with the overall aim of being accessible to all.

In stained glass bold, energetic, angular shapes were in, along with using texture (as opposed to colour) to mark different sections. In this job I was asked to restore 3 original panels saved from a neighbours house. Often these designs use large pieces of textured glass which can be hard to source...


The clear textured glasses in these panels were a mix of Arctic (original pattern), Glistre (Large pattern) and Rimpled glass. The red cross is glass from a previous repair that needs replacing with Glistre in the matching shape above. The red circles below are all cracked panes that need replacing.

Photo courtesy of S. Fox

The blue border glass has a subtle streak...

When the missing glass is replaced and the panels are releaded, recemented and polished the textures come to life...


Photo (and fitting) courtesy of Phil Charles

and they still make as bold and optimistic a statement as when they were first fitted some 85 odd years ago.

Photo courtesy of Phil Charles

Photo courtesy of Sam Fox

Photo courtesy of Sam Fox

Complimented by the hard work and dedication of this customer sourcing door furniture, colour and much of the glass to get an authentic period look. 

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