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Hoover Building
The Hoover Building is a Grade II* listed building of Art Deco architecture designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners located in Perivale in the London Borough of Ealing. The site opened in 1933 as the UK headquarters, manufacturing plant and repairs centre for The Hoover Company. The building is now owned by IDM Properties and has been converted into apartments.
The main building was opened in May 1933 by Lord Rochdale as the UK headquarters for The Hoover Company. This was designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners - the same firm that designed the Firestone Tyre Factory in Brentford and Victoria Coach Station in Central London. Thomas Wallis said of the Art Deco design: ’A little money spent in the incorporation of some form of decoration, especially colour, is not money wasted. It has a psychological effect on the worker.’
Soon after the main building was built, plans were drawn up for a manufacturing plant. As demand for Hoover vacuum cleaners began to grow, the factory was extended in the mid-thirties increasing the space to 254,000 square feet (23,597.4 square metres). A two-storey extension was added to the manufacturing plant and another factory was built behind the original building. In 1938, a canteen and recreation centre were completed to the west of the site. It was referred to in the press at this time as a 'Modern Palace of Industry', in contrast to the older factories in the north of England. The firm welcomed visitors to look around the factory.
During its heyday in the 1930s, 1,600 people were employed at the site, which was considered a model factory with regard to worker welfare.
John Betjeman described it as "a sort of Art Deco Wentworth Woodhouse – with whizzing window curves derived from Erich Mendelsohn's work in Germany, and splashes of primary colour from the Aztec and Mayan fashions at the 1925 Paris Exhibition."
During the Second World War the factory was used to manufacture aircraft parts. Vacuum cleaners were still produced at the site, but at a lower output than previously. The buildings were camouflaged to avoid being bombed by German aircraft. The building's staff set up their own Home Guard unit. After the war, which the building survived, another extension was added - a five-storey building to the north of the site.
In 1980 the main building and in 1981 the canteen building were granted a Grade II* listing. The site was described in the list entry as ‘possibly the most significant arterial road factory of its date, and one of the most attractive.’
In 1989 the supermarket chain Tesco purchased the Hoover Building and sixteen of the seventeen houses that backed onto the Hoover site. The northern parts of the factory site were demolished to make way for a supermarket and the main building was repaired and refurbished to create office space.
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Hoover Building AI simulator
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Hoover Building
The Hoover Building is a Grade II* listed building of Art Deco architecture designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners located in Perivale in the London Borough of Ealing. The site opened in 1933 as the UK headquarters, manufacturing plant and repairs centre for The Hoover Company. The building is now owned by IDM Properties and has been converted into apartments.
The main building was opened in May 1933 by Lord Rochdale as the UK headquarters for The Hoover Company. This was designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners - the same firm that designed the Firestone Tyre Factory in Brentford and Victoria Coach Station in Central London. Thomas Wallis said of the Art Deco design: ’A little money spent in the incorporation of some form of decoration, especially colour, is not money wasted. It has a psychological effect on the worker.’
Soon after the main building was built, plans were drawn up for a manufacturing plant. As demand for Hoover vacuum cleaners began to grow, the factory was extended in the mid-thirties increasing the space to 254,000 square feet (23,597.4 square metres). A two-storey extension was added to the manufacturing plant and another factory was built behind the original building. In 1938, a canteen and recreation centre were completed to the west of the site. It was referred to in the press at this time as a 'Modern Palace of Industry', in contrast to the older factories in the north of England. The firm welcomed visitors to look around the factory.
During its heyday in the 1930s, 1,600 people were employed at the site, which was considered a model factory with regard to worker welfare.
John Betjeman described it as "a sort of Art Deco Wentworth Woodhouse – with whizzing window curves derived from Erich Mendelsohn's work in Germany, and splashes of primary colour from the Aztec and Mayan fashions at the 1925 Paris Exhibition."
During the Second World War the factory was used to manufacture aircraft parts. Vacuum cleaners were still produced at the site, but at a lower output than previously. The buildings were camouflaged to avoid being bombed by German aircraft. The building's staff set up their own Home Guard unit. After the war, which the building survived, another extension was added - a five-storey building to the north of the site.
In 1980 the main building and in 1981 the canteen building were granted a Grade II* listing. The site was described in the list entry as ‘possibly the most significant arterial road factory of its date, and one of the most attractive.’
In 1989 the supermarket chain Tesco purchased the Hoover Building and sixteen of the seventeen houses that backed onto the Hoover site. The northern parts of the factory site were demolished to make way for a supermarket and the main building was repaired and refurbished to create office space.