Description

CAMDEN

TQ3081SE KINGSWAY
798-1/106/995 (West side)
08/09/71 No.63
Kodak House

II

Office block, incorporating Nos 61 & 65. c1911. By Sir John
Burnet and Partners (job architect Thomas Tait) for Kodak;
later attic storey. Built by Allen Construction Co. Steel
framed construction with Portland stone facing and bronze
spandrel panels emphasising the method of structure. Bronze
roof canopy with antefixae masks.
EXTERIOR: 6 storeys, basement and C20 attic storey. 5 window
bays to main frontage, splayed 1 window corner treatment and 7
window bays to return. Windows with post 1973 glazing;
originally 6 light casements with leaded panes. Plate glass
ground floor frontage. Central doorway with bolection moulded
surround and flanked by bronze torches. Plain stone continuous
sill at 1st floor level; square-headed recessed windows. Stone
pilasters between bays rise from 2nd floor level; they have
bases but not capitals and lead flush into the top frieze.
Coved stone cornice with band of Greek fret ornament.
INTERIOR: has good original staircases, the principal
staircase to 1st floor level of marble with bronze handrail.
Other features may remain behind partitioning.
HISTORICAL NOTE: an early example in London of an office block
treated in a straightforward manner. Although a pioneering
work of modern design it evolves from an Edwardian
Neo-Classical design, stripped of almost all ornament and with
a Beaux Arts axial plan. Burnet made a study tour of America
in preparation for this project. The detail appears to be by
Thomas Tait: despite Burnet's doubts about the lack of usual
decoration, the client liked the simplicity.

Listing NGR: TQ3058281277

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27086660

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)