Showrooms, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1

A NEW LONDON SHOWROOM - At first sight it would appear that no type of merchandise would lend itself less to artistic display than do engineering machines and implements. Yet the demands of modern commerce are inexorable, and one of them is that if objects are for sale somehow. or other they must be made to look attractive, for it is not sufficient that they should serve a utilitarian purpose. The professional " window-dresser" who can arrange decorative objects decoratively would probably fail here because he is accustomed to deal with small and somewhat dainty things, each of which is itself a finished product. A machine, however, is not an end in itself, but an instrument, and as such it must necessarily lack the air of finality which distinguishes ordinary objects of use or ornament. It is customary, of course, for a certain type of critic to contend that all machines are already beautiful and are objects of art by virtue of their " fitness for purpose," but whatever a vociferous sect of artists may say, most practical men, and, in particular, engineers themselves, do not accept this dictum. And, obviously, if Messrs. Allen-Liversidge had been persuaded of this all too easy and unintellectual theory there would have been no need for them to employ the services of Mr. Emberton to arrange their exhibits for them. The truth is that the exhibits in their naked form were rather inelegant and the aesthetic element, so necessary as an aid to successful salesmanship, had to be artificially introduced. By the manner in which Mr. Emberton has tackled his problem he has shown himself to possess very great constructive imagination. With most unpromising material he has created an artistic composition, and in his particular task there is no doubt that his experience in designing stalls for exhibitions has been of assistance to him. The main principle governing the arrangement of objects in an exhibition is that of enclosure. The effect of order is obtained by means of frameworks which give the appearance of formality to a miscellany of things having little mutual aesthetic relationship. Mr. Emberton has for the first time perhaps applied this principle to the interior design of a showroom in which engineering goods are displayed and the result is extraordinarily attractive. Not only, however, has he succeeded in creating an homogeneous architectural ensemble by juxtaposing a number of stalls of uniform design, but he has introduced decorative embellishments in the form of engraved glass friezes above the stalls, which represent a high standard of pictorial art, inasmuch as they are entirely topical and give elegant conventional representation of objects and processes appertaining to the electrical equipment displayed in the shop itself. The whole appearance of the stalls has a steely modern look, which is due partly to the silver grey of the upright supports and frames of the glass and the glistening Stay-bright frieze. Especial care has been devoted to the lighting arrangements. No naked lights are to be seen anywhere, and the diffused illumination behind glazed panels at the sides of the stalls and from above can be manipulated by sections so that the exhibits may be shown to the best advantage. Moreover, the stalls are so arranged that, the exhibits in each illustrate a separate section or division of goods. In one stall, for instance, we see equipment for domestic heating by acetylene gas, in another machines for acetylene welding, in yet another cylinders providing gas for lamps in yachts, and so on. There is one point in connection with these exhibits which deserves special mention here, namely, the decorative quality which the architect has imparted to them by making them support and accentuate the general colour scheme of the room. Indeed, it appears that engineering goods, simply because they have little formal individuality of their own, are free to take on colour decoration imposed from without. These exhibits contribute to a symphony of grey and silver enlivened by scarlet, and one receives the impression that they have become, as it were, civilised. This is just what architecture should do for commerce and Mr. Emberton may be congratulated upon achieving such a result.  The outside of the shop is harmonious with the interior and the showcases visible from the street are of the same pattern as those inside. A blue mosaic pavement marks the recessed entrance to the doorway, while the inscription on the fascia above the shop-front has a machine-like crispness which is highly distinctive. [Architect and Building News 13 September 1929 page 316-318]

Reference    Architect and Building News 13 September 1929 page 316-318 with images
Reference    Builder 27 September 1929 page 520