Universal House, Southwark Bridge Road, London

Universal House, Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, was built in 1933 as the headquarters for Beck and Pollitzer, a general carrier and warehousing partnership founded in 1863 by Sigismind Pollitzer and John Beck. In 1961, the business was sold to the Transport Development Group although the Beck & Pollitzer Group continued to exist. Universal House was demolished in 1964.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE, MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTHWARK - Irrespective of any artistic merits it may have, Universal House, Southwark Bridge, designed for Messrs. Beck and Pollitzer, transport, exhibition, and general contractors, by Mr. Joseph Emberton, FRIBA is important as one of the very few attempts at something which will have to be gone through before anything like a contemporary architecture emerges. That is to say. Universal House is designed strictly in terms of its purpose, materials and methods of construction, leaving the formal effect to follow. It is, essentially, a construction of three floors, or decks, affording the maximum of open space, with their supporting stanchions. As such it stands alone and, theoretically, could be taken up and put down anywhere else, like a three-tiered table. For vertical access to the different floors-the first floor being cantilevered out over a roadway beside the river-- there is an automatic lift and staircase at the main entrance, and there is another staircase, enclosed in a circular tower of concrete, on the river front. At present this is at the corner of the building, but a future extension will leave it in the middle of the river elevation. Everything else may be described as protection from weather. The enclosing walls have no supporting function. There were two reasons for setting back the supporting stanchions of the building from the enclosing walls-to avoid the foundations of Southwark Bridge and to reduce the cost of steel by exploiting the cantilever-or overhang-principle. The practical requirements of the enclosing wall were. to provide a greater insulation value than is normally obtained with brickwork, to be as light and thin as possible, and to afford an external surface which would be permanent, not hold dirt, and be easy to clean. To meet these requirements the wall was made of reinforced concrete, 4.5in. thick, faced on the inside with l--in. of cork. and on the outside with common rough-cast glass. fixed in position with a non-corrosive metal. Each floor has a continuous band of windows. To prevent cross draughts, while ensuring adequate ventilation, the type of window chosen was the balanced type, frequently used in hospitals. Immediately under each window-on the inside-is a radiator panel.

Formally this construction, so severely adapted to practical purposes, including economy in erection and comfort and convenience in working, comes out at least pleasantly. The horizontal bands of clear and opaque glass-the backing of the opaque panels results in a charming sea-green tint-produce a rather ship-like effect, appropriate to a riverside building. The portion by the entrance is slightly advanced, affording from its rounded corner a clear view along Southwark Bridge, and the junction of the opaque bands with the concrete tower at its window levels produces an interlocking effect, suggesting stability. Except for that of its materials of construction the only decoration that the building bears is that of its name and the title of the firm in well-designed letters of red Neon lighting. The interior effect on each floor is one of extreme comfort and convenience for working purposes. All artificial light fittings are designed on the cantilever principle, resulting in unity of effect. The lift, the first of its kind to be installed, deserves a word of description. It is entirely automatic - answering to a touch and refusing to pass an intermediate floor when the appropriate button has been pressed. Should the doors, in closing, touch a person entering the lift, they retire to the open position, and slowly close after an interval of time sufficient to allow the person to enter. The roof of the building is flat, with a plain handrail, and through it project the heads of the stanchions which will be continued to support additional floors, or decks, when and if they are needed. [The Times Friday 16 June 1933 page 8]

Reference    London Picture Archive
Reference    Americal Architect September 1934 page 29 with illustrations
Reference    The Times 16 June 1933 page 8