 Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Quadrant House HALLEN THERON and PARTNERS: Restoration Architects 1989 |  | ||||||
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Click to view map Coordinates: | Subject to a fairly recent refurbishment and external restoration, Quadrant House is a little jewel on the Victoria Embankment. It is considered one of the epitomes of the so-called Berea Style, which arose from local interest in Spanish colonial architecture as found on the west coast of North America. The building is characterised by a prominent central bay with a shell motif. Other key elements are a hierarchical play of hipped pavilion roofs and a series of Spanish frames to the windows and veranda openings. The original plan was quite chaotic: the ground floor was given over to shops while the accommodation above was a maze of small rooms, which were accessed from a central staircase. One of the difficulties in planning the building must have been the shape of the site, a quarter circle or quadrant from which the building derives its name. Fortunately the restoration has been sympathetic, keeping intact the major external characteristics of this clever little building. (attrib Sunday Tribune Dec 25, 1988; attrib NIA Jnl 3/4 1992:6 ill) All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. Books that reference Quadrant House
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