French art nouveau architecture in London: Michelin House 1911

Michelin Tyre Company started operating in Clermont-Ferrand in France in 1889. Art Nouveau architects perfected their style during the 1890—1910 years. Exactly in that era, in 1894, Monsieur Bib­end­um became the advertising symbol of the Michelin tyre company, introduced at the Lyon Exhib­it­ion where brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin ran a display pavilion. As the photo suggests, Bibendum’s shape was a salute to a stack of tyres.

Monsieur Bib­end­um 
advertising symbol of the Michelin tyre company

In might have taken a few years to get to London but already by 1909 the planning for Michelin Tyres’ Fulham Road building in Chelsea had started. I imagined that the company would have wanted to make an enormous impression on the British public but the new architectur­al plans were actually drawn up by an employee of the company, François Espinasse of Clermont-Ferrand. He was neither an architect nor an engineer!

The two storeys, made from ferro concrete and brick, were faced with glazed terracotta. From start to finish the building took only six months to complete and was officially opened in January 1911 in the presence of André Michelin.

Michelin Tyres in Fulham Road

opened for business in January 1911

Art Nouveau taste was everywhere! As part of the three bay front, the ground floor was divided by ornamental piers and ornamental ironwork. On the inside and outside walls there were 32 ceramic tile panels which showed scenes from Michelin’s hist­ory: the early history of motoring, famous racing cars of the time and the first pneum­atic tyres used on a horse drawn carriage.

The building had 3 large stained-glass windows on the front elevation, based on Michelin advertisements of the time and all featuring the Michelin Man. The windows portrayed Bibendum as a kicking boxer; he could cycle whilst smoking a cigar. The Michelin company’s close association with road maps and tourism was represent­ed by a number of etchings of the streets of Paris on some of the first-floor windows.

The building offered everything the pre-WW1 motorist could have required. Fitting bays at the front of the building allowed motorists to have their tyres changed by Michelin fitters, using the stock stored in the basement. At the left of the front reception, a Touring Office provided maps and route itineraries. The floor inside had a mosaic showing Bibendum holding aloft a glass of nuts and bolts.

Conran's Oyster Bar in Michelin House

opened in 1987

Note the Bibendum mosaic on the floor and the tiles panels on the wall

In April 1969 the original front section of Michelin House was given a Grade II listing. But why did Michelin move out of the building in 1985? It was bought by restaurateur/designer Sir Terence Conran and publisher Paul Hamlyn. They embarked on a major redevelopment that included the restor­ation of some the original features. The new development featured offices for Hamlyn’s company Octopus Publishing, as well as Conran’s Bibendum Restaurant & Oyster Bar, and a Conran Shop. All three businesses re-opened in 1987.

Some have concluded that Michelin House remains one of the most recognisable buildings in London, and a fine example of French architectural craftsmanship, unusual for the British capital. It certainly is still easily recognised, 100+ years after being built.

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Examine the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain, while we are on cars. The club's headquarters first opened in 1897 and moved to Piccadilly only five years later. I am assuming it was King Edward VII's interest in motoring that led to new membership and new facilities. In 1911 they moved to the current address, the ex-War Office in Pall Mall, with its architecture in the late French Renaissance manner. The new club interior was designed in the grand style by the architects of The Ritz, Mewes and Davis, and furnished by imported French sculptors and craftsmen.

Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall London

opened in 1911

photo credit: Britain Magazine

The Royal Automobile Club,

Great Gallery Dining Room

The swimming pool, rifle range, shiny mosaics and Turkish baths were said to be inspired by King Louis XIV, giving fin de siecle opulence for a hedonistic age. But were the designers of the Royal Automobile Club actually influenced by the Michelin Tyre Company which had so recently opened for business in Fulham Road?  The dates were persuasive and so was the desire for French grandeur.