Michelin
House, Chelsea, London
Architect
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François Espinasse |
Date
Built
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1911
|
Location
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81 Fulham Road
|
Description
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This building at the corner of the Fulham Road
and Sloane Avenue was once the UK headquarters
of the Michelin tyre company. The
building that today occupies an entire city
block was built in stages behind the ornate
original section on the Fulham Road end.
What today is an oyster bar, once featured the
fitting bays of the tyre company and an office
that sold the famous Michelin maps. Over
30,000 tyres were stored in the basement of
the building and brought up to the fitting
bays using a lift and a purpose built sloped
floor.
The building was one of the first in the UK to
employ the ferro-concrete construction system
developed by François Hennebique. This
system was also employed in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the construction of a
Co-op warehouse, now a Malmaison Hotel.
Among the features of this construction system
are the ability to create large open interior
spaces free of supporting columns and, of
particular importance in a tyre warehouse,
fire-resistance.
The building’s designer was François Espinasse
who was employed by Michelin as an
engineer. He is also believed to have
designed the company’s Paris
Headquarters. The design of the building
defies accurate classification. It has
features of Art Nouveau but has hints of the
Art Deco style that was to become popular in
the years to come. Among the decorative
features of the building are three large
stained glass windows featuring Bibendum, the
famous Michelin Man.
The windows that grace the building today
though are replicas. The original
windows were removed and moved to Michelin’s
Stoke-on-Trent factory during WWII to protect
them from the bombing. However, in the
intervening years they went missing.
Other decoration includes a series of
attractive ceramic plaques featuring famous
racing cars ....
.... ceramic tiles in the form of tyres
....
and, at the front of the building two
pinnacles, in the form of stacked tyres, that
are illuminated from within at night.
This front section of the building, now
occupied by an oyster bar, was given a Grade
II Listing in 1969.
Over the years the front block was added to by
extensions back towards Ixworth
Place. Michelin moved their headquarters
to Stoke-on-Trent in 1930 but continued to own
the Fulham Road building until 1985 when they
sold it to Sir Terrance Conran and Paul
Hamlyn. Following the sale a number of
changes were made to the building including
the addition of a glass and steel structure in
the former loading bay on Sloane Avenue.
Today this is occupied by Conran’s furniture
store.
Another occupant of the building is the
Bibendum restaurant.
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