Holland House is a Grade II* Listed Building
designed by the Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus
Berlage for Wm. H Müller & Co, a Dutch
company involved in shipping and ore mining in
Spain and North Africa. Sarah Wittekind,
writing on the Twentieth Century Society
website, says that it, " ... seems to me
to mark the transition from Art Nouveau to
Art Deco and introduces something
continental and exciting to the cityscape."
The building is cited as being the first steel
framed building in Europe and has a facade that
features polished black marble and fiance.
Writing a contribution to
the Historic England website, Katie
Carmichael adds that, "... The delft
bricks on the facade were sent to London
on the firm’s ships in the middle of the
war, and given priority over other
cargoes. ....
.... An image of a ship is evident in
the prow like granite sculpture by the
Dutch artist J. Mendes da Costa in the
Southeast corner of the building. ....
.... The lobbies and the public areas are
the result of the collaboration between the
architect Berlage and the artist Bart Van
Der Leck (one of the founders of the De
Stijl movement). When Berlage stopped
working with the company in 1919 the
interior was not yet finished, so the
Belgian Art Nouveau founder Henri van de
Velde took over."
