I'm truly appalled – the Willen House transformation is worse than I'd imagined.

This is the latest update about the 'renovation' of Willen House, a spectacular and rare example of of 1940's architecture that was opened by the then Mayor of Finsbury in 1948. The building was clad in the most gorgeous fired tiles in warm toffee tones, the like of which I have yet to see anywhere else, not just London. You might have noticed that I just used the past tense. Read on...

I have been avoiding Bath Street for a while now. Whenever I'm on a No.43 bus going past the end of the street along City Road I avert my eyes, because I wanted to wait and see what the reveal would be, hoping that my concerns would be misappropriated. 

I had also put on hold my Art Deco Shoreditch guided walk because Willen House had been a highlight along the route – it was always a joy to see people's faces and hear their gasps of amazement when I explained that this was post-WW2, not strictly what we call the Art Deco era.  

I heard that the scaffolding had been removed. A few days ago, after a lovely wander around the Golden Lane estate and finding myself so close to Bath Street, I thought it was about time to go and check it out. As I walked in from the City Road end... my heart sank: 

It just looks like another modern building inspired by the Art Deco era but made with cheaper-looking products. Edging along Bath Street, audibly muttering expletives to myself, I noticed that the fluted columns that used to flank the doorway are also gone. The letterform used for the name is just plain boring (tho it does match the building I suppose):

It is now a pastiche of its former self. They have removed ALL of the tiles and replaced them with pre-formed panels that replicate the design of the old building. Why bother? What has happened to all those fabulous earthenware glazed fired tiles? Have they been repurposed? Were they sold as architectural salvage? I feel another letter to the developer and architects is due.

Here's the view from the southern corner, compared with a montage of images that shows how it used to look a few years ago. The weather on both days was very similar, yet the top pic of the revamp looks stark, whereas the 1940's façade looks warm. 

The window frames did need replacing and the new ones are an improvement, but why is everything black these days? This is a fashion that will soon change. They could have added come colour to our world and painted them a luscious shade of green as per the balconies metalwork Dorset House near Baker Street. Ooh, that would have been nice. 

The old tiles in warming tones of caramel, cream and chocolate formed a continuous curtain around the building, but today's version employs panels with gaps between which, I hope, will be filled. Also, what's happened to the commemorative plaque that used to be on the Lever Street corner? Will it be replaced? Doubtful. Perhaps they've given to Islington Museum? I have too many questions!

My flabber is ghasted. We have people outraged at the proposed development of a not very Deco building in Oxford Street because it happens to be owned by M&S, yet Willen House is abused with nary a squeak.

I just don't see what they have achieved here. Re-purposing the main structure is, of course, a good idea but I'd have preferred a complete redesign of the exterior rather than this pathetic nod to the past. Seeing as they have copied [some of] the original façade can we hope that there will be a small heritage area in the foyer explaining the building's name and the company behind it? If so, perhaps I can help with that, being as I have so much info on file having researched it for my walks and talks! 

This is the second revamp to scupper my Art Deco Shoreditch walking tour, Gilray House having been blandified with grey paint a few years back, however its façade is still recoverable. The archiectural appreciation route already included some adaptions both good and bad, as well as modern buildings that cleverly riff on the Streamline Moderne aesthetic. Now, due to the re-cladding of Willen House, I will be updating the tour to highlight how the Art Deco design styles of the 1930s continued to influence architects through the subsequent decades. On the positive side, this means I can now include some excellent 1950's buildings along the way. Please keep an eye on my Eventbrite page for updates. 

Update on the horrid revamp of Willen House, Bath Street, Moorfields, EC1– a unique example of architecture from the 1940s

Almost two and a half years ago I wrote this piece about the proposals for the overhaul of Willen House, an unusual 'art Deco' style building in Moorfields. Since then I often take a detour if I am in the area to see what's happening, approaching the building with trepidation, scared at what I might find. With so much time having elapsed, I wondered if, perhaps, the plans had changed.

Here's the building looking fab on Google Streetview in August 2022:

And here's mosaic of some of my photos showing how marvellous it looks when the sun is shing

Earlier this week, I wandered eastwards from Central Street along Lever Street towards Bath Street. The rear of Willen House appeared to be as was (phew!) and the Lever Street side seemed OK:

But, as I turned the corner into Bath Street, I was horrified to see that they've hacked away at the tiles on the corner, for what purpose I do not know. The commemorative plaque stating that this building was opened in 1948 surely meaning very little to today's property developers (see more about this further down). I hope they, at least, keep the plaque in situ.

Moving round into Bath Street, scaffolding was being erected on the Galway Street side: 

I noticed that the interiors were gutted and the ugly secondary glazing has already been removed. Sections of tiles have been chipped away in strips along the front of the building. I wondered why. But what I couldn't find a board or panel showing the plans and contact details for the contractors and architects as is normal in situations like this. 

A bit of sleuthing online and I discover that tp bennett architects is no longer listing this as a project on their site. Instead, Infrasture Investments has instructed Beachrock to create a 208-bedroom scheme at a cost of £60million, due to be completed in 2025 – a scheme that could have been slightly cheaper had they not budgeted so much money on unnecessary paint. A brochure here tells the full story. Whilst I am all for a much-needed upgrade of the interior spaces, I cannot fathom how and why Islington Council's planning department approved the alterations to the main façade.  

I am upset, disappointed, bordering on furious, at the rape of this very unusual building, constructed in the 1940s, a decade when barely anything interesting was built, let alone something of this quality, due to austerity after after WW2. Indeed, I am only aware of a couple of other developments that were constructed in the 1940s, also special in their own way:

1940 – The Coronet PH, Holloway Road, N7, was originally opened as The Savoy Cinema. Stayed open during WW2. The date 1940 can also be seen on the hoppers on Senate House (on the Russell Square side), but these are later additions being as the building was completed in 1937.

1941 – I'm pretty sure that Russell Square House, at the corner of Woburn Place, was completed in 1941. These government offices were under construction when WW2 broke out. There are some interesting ventilation grilles at low level that, to me, look like Union Jack flags.

1942–1945 – I am not aware of any buildings constructed in these years. However, in 1943, the County Plan For London was implemented.

1946 – The New River Company's Claremont Close housing development, Islington, accessed from Claremont Square.

1947 – Wall Court, Stroud Green Road, N4. This well-designed housing development was quickly followed by similar schemes in 1948 at nearby Lawson Court, Wiltshire Court and Marquis Court as well as houses in Osbourne Rd.   

1949–1950 – Nothing in my files. But, surely, there must be other residential schemes in other parts of London that I am not aware of, as well as municipal buildings, such as school, libraries, police stations and town halls...? Hmm, I wonder if they were all too busy planning exciting things for 1951's Festival of Britain. 

I am struggling to find any other examples from this decade. Please do let me know if you can add to the list. 

As I have said before, if Willen House had been constructed for/by a well-known name such as M&S there would have been a public outcry, as per the proposals that were overturned in Oxford Street. 

Let me know your thoughts.