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Holland House
Hendrik Petrus Berlage | |
| location | London |
| function | office |
| contributed by | davidb |
It is believed that Berlage's design for Holland House was inspired by the work of Louis Sullivan after a trip to the States in 1911. The building is believed to be the first example of a steel frame structure in Europe. It is clad in glazed bricks, which were made in Delft and transported over on the client's own ships. Prior to the destruction of the Baltic Exchange, opposite, in 1992 and the subsequent building of Foster's Swiss Re building on the same site, Bury Street was a dark, narrow passageway. Berlage recognised this and designed the elevations to be seen obliquely. The creation of the piazza at the base of the Gherkin gave an opportunity, for the first time, for the building to be seen frontally, and perhaps to be more widely admired. On the south leg of Bury Street, was a secondary entrance. This has since gone, but a splendid black-granite sculpture by J.M. da Costa, associated with this feature, was retained. Inside there are ceramic compositions by B. van der Leck.
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