Selfridges is a Grade II listed retail store on Oxford Street in London. It was designed by Daniel Burnham for Harry Gordon Selfridge, and opened in 1909. Still the headquarters of Selfridge & amp; Department store Co., with a 540,000 square foot (50,000 m) selling space, is the second largest retail store in the UK, half the largest department store in Europe, Harrods. It was named the world's best department store in 2010, and again in 2012.
Video Selfridges, Oxford Street
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In 1906, Harry Gordon Selfridge went to England on holiday with his wife, Rose. Not impressed with the quality of existing UK retailers, he noticed that major London stores did not adopt the latest sales idea used in the United States.
Selfridge decided to invest Ã, Â £ 400,000 in building his own department store on the edge of ancient Oxford Street, gradually buying a series of Georgian architectural buildings located on the desired block set by four surrounding streets: Somerset, Wigmore, Orchard and Duke.
Maps Selfridges, Oxford Street
Design and construction
The building was designed by American architect Daniel Burnham, who is respected for his department store design. He created Marshall Field's, Chicago, Filene in Boston, Wanamaker in Philadelphia, and Gimbels and Wanamaker in New York City. The building was an early example in Britain using a steel frame, a five-story high with three underground levels and a roof terrace, originally laid out to accommodate 100 departments.
The Swedish structural engineer trained in America, Sven Bylander, is engaged to design steel frame structures. Since the building was one of the earliest examples of the steel frame in the UK, Bylander must first approve building codes in accordance with the London City Council, which necessitates amendments to the London Building Act of 1844. Use as a basis for the same covering rules - designed warehouses London dock, Bylander then approved a change that allows a larger range in the lower beam dimensions due to the use of steel on the rock. Bylander designed the entire support structure approved by the LCC in 1907, with a steel frame based on the foundation of a blue brick pile, supporting a steel frame that holds all internal walls and concrete floors. Bylander is designed on additional supplemental supported walls, as the LCC will not approve storage areas above 450,000 cubic feet (13,000 m 3 ) due to approved fire safety regulations, many of which were removed 20 years later in light of the law. new laws. Bylander submitted a thoroughly illustrated 13 page report of building design to Concrete and Constructive Engineering, published in 1909. The work of Burnham and Bylander with LCC led to the passage of the LCC (General Powers) Act 1909, also called Steel Frame Act, which gives the power council to regulate the construction of reinforced concrete structures.
American architect Francis Swales, trained at the Nation cole Nationale Supé rieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was briefed on the frontalpiece design. Assisted by British architects R. Frank Atkinson and Thomas Smith Tait, the final design was strongly influenced by John Burnet's 1904 extension to the British Museum. The steel support columns are hidden behind the ionic columns, to create a facade that presents the visually uniform, classic Beaux-Arts appearance. A typical polychrome statue above the entrance of Oxford Street is the work of the English sculptor Gilbert Bayes. The front end, through the use of a cast iron window framework for a maximum size of 19 feet 4 inches (5.89 m) by 12 feet 0 inches (3.66 m), means that both the streets of Oxford Street and Duke Street consists of more glass than stone or iron.
Construction
Opened on March 15, 1909, the store was built in stages. The first phase consists of a nine-and-a-half bays closest to the corner of Duke Street, a 250-foot (76 m) wide site on Oxford Street by 175 feet (53 m) along Duke Street. The average floor height is 15 feet (4.6 m), and the initial structure contains nine passenger lifts, two service lifts and six stairs.
The main entrance and all the bays on the left are added about 18 years after the store first opened, using a modified construction system. The full building was fully opened in 1928, and consequently through the use of a supporting spandrel steel panel, the glass panel scale at the main entrance could be greatly enlarged.
The scheme to erect a large tower above the post-World War I stores was never done. Harry Selfridge also proposed a subway connection to Bond Street station, and renamed it "Selfridges"; However, the contemporary opposition abandoned the idea.
The final design of the building was completed in 1928, although classic in style and the front of the visible, completely modern in steel frame construction. Partly because the new schools of architectural thought emerged apart from the classic schools, and partly due to the close to World War I, this building was seen as the last of the great classical buildings done in England. Although Britain adopted the late modern architecture only from the 1930s, in the mid-20th century many architects saw Selfridges as if pre-historic in design, accepted only because Harry Gordon Selfridge wanted to advertise his business with confidence. look of classicism in stone.
Basements
There are two levels of basement below the underground shop floor: 'sub' and 'sub-sub'. Combined, it's down 60 meters (200 feet) below the road surface. These two regions are then divided into two regions: the dry sub and the sub-sub, and their "wet" equivalents. The wet area beneath the original nine-and-half bay is closest to the corner of Duke Street from the 1909 building. The "dry" is beneath the rear of the building, known as SWOD after about four streets - Somerset, Wigmore, Orchard and Duke - which never closed it. During World War II after the entry of the United States into the conflict, from 1942 the dried SWOD sub-sub was used by the United States Army. It has the only secure telex, safe from the bombing, and is close to the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square. Originally used by US General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the SHAEF, it housed 50 soldiers from the 805 Signal Service Company from the US Army Signal Corps, which installed a SIGSALY code-scrambling device connected to a similar terminal in the Pentagon building.. The first conference took place on July 15, 1943. Early visitors included Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to enable secure communications with the President of the United States, although the extension was then installed into both 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet War Room. Rumors continue from a tunnel built from Selfridges to the embassy so that personnel can move between the two safely, with interrogation cells for prisoners carved out of the uneven space generated.
restoration 2002
While the restoration work was carried out in 2002, scaffold surround is used to carry the largest photography artwork ever produced, 60 feet (18 m) tall by 900 feet (270 m) long and weighing two tons. Created by Sam Taylor-Wood, it shows a collection of famous pop and cultural figures of the day, including Sir Elton John.
Operation
The new store opened to the public on March 15, 1909, employs 1,400 staff, setting a new standard for retail business.
At that time, women began to enjoy the fruits of emancipation by wandering around London. A clever marketer, Selfridge promotes the radical idea of ​​shopping for fun rather than necessity. This store is widely promoted through paid advertising. The store floor is structured so that items can be made more accessible to customers. There is an elegant restaurant with modest prices, a library, reading and writing rooms, a special reception room for French, German, American and "Colonial" customers, First Aid Room and Quiet Room, with soft lights, indoor and double chairs. - line, all intended to keep customers in store for as long as possible. Staff members are taught to be on hand to help customers, but not too aggressively, and to sell merchandise. Oliver Lyttleton observes that, when someone calls Selfridge, he will have nothing on his desk except his letter, smoothed and ironed.
Selfridge also managed to get from GPO, the privilege of having number "1" as its own phone number, so anyone just need to press 1 to be connected to operator Selfridge.
The rooftop terrace has terraced gardens, cafes, mini golf courses, and women's arms clubs. The roof, with a view of London, is a public place to stroll after a shopping trip and is often used for fashion shows. Like many of London's centers during World War II, Selfridges suffered serious damage on a number of occasions during the 57 night London Blitz from 7 September 1940, and in 1941 and 1944. After heavy bombardment in the western end on 17/18 September 1940 with combined strength of 268 Heinkel 111 and Dornier Do 17 bombers - after which the Art Deco shops lifted us out of service until post-WW2, and the signature window was destroyed - Harry vowed never to open the roof garden again, and had a brick-up ground floor window. The roof terrace reopens for the first time since July 2011, for promotional events staged by Truvia as part of their UK launch. Bompas & amp; Parr designed a publicly accessible art installation, consisting of a green-colored rowing lake, with 12 paddle boats and an accompanying bar. In Summer 2012, Bompas & amp; Parr designed an art installation entitled "The Great British Tea Festival", which included a cake-themed 9-hole golf course, accompanied by an organic tea house sponsored by Daylesford.
The bomb on April 17, 1941 only destroyed the Palm Court Restaurant, a place for the rich and famous. However, at 11 o'clock on the evening of December 6, 1944, a V-2 rocket hit the Red Lion pub at the corner of Duke Street and Barrett Street. A canteen in the basement area of ​​SWOD (see above) was badly damaged, with eight American soldiers killed and 32 wounded, as well as ten civilian deaths and seven wounded. In the main building, the damaged water channel threatened SIGSALY, and while the Food Hall was the only department that did not need to be cleaned, the Christmas tree display front of the Selfridges store was blown up on Oxford Street. In 2010, only three of the four pre-World War II retailers - Selfridges, House of Fraser and John Lewis - were in retail, while Bourne & amp; Hollingsworth and Peter Robinson (obtained in 1946 by Burton), no longer trading. Selfridges is the only retailer still trading in the same building, who still endures war damage, while John Lewis has moved on. Bourne & amp; Hollingsworth is located in the Plaza Shopping Center which is now closed at No. 120, while Peter Robinson is now named Niketown at No. 200-236.
Milne-Shaw seismograph was erected on the third floor in 1932, attached to one of the main building buildings, unaffected by traffic or buyers. It records the Belgian earthquake of June 11, 1938 which is also felt in London. At the time of the outbreak of the war, the seismograph was moved from its original place near the Post Office to other parts of the store. In 1947, a seismograph was given to the British Museum.
Parts of Selfridges were damaged in the 1974 bombing of Oxford Street by the Temporary Irish Republican Army. The IRA also installed another bomb - on February 21, 1976 inside the store, injuring five people; right outside the shop on Oxford Street on August 28, 1975, injuring seven; and inside the store on January 29, 1977, making the building on fire and causing injuries.
In 2002, Selfridges was awarded the London Tourism Award for a favorite London visitor store. Selfridges was named the world's best department store in 2010, and again in 2012. It claims to contain Britain's largest beauty department, and Europe's busiest doorway that sucks 250,000 people a week passes the Louis Vuitton concession to Oxford Street.
Windows
Selfridges '27 Oxford Street windows has become synonymous with brands, and to some extent has become as famous as the store and location of Oxford Street itself. The windows consistently attract tourists, designers and fashionistas alike admire the design and style and fashion trends of today.
Selfridges has a history of bold artistic initiatives when it comes to window design. When the building opened, Harry Selfridge began a "signature" window signed by all the stars and famous people who came to shop at the store. It was cracked in the first bombing during the flash, and was never fixed.
Today, the visual merchandising team calculates that the 20% of trading that wins the business comes from windows. When Alannah Weston became Creative Director after the purchase by her family in 2003, she approached artist Alison Jackson to put her trademark Tony Blair and David Beckham in the window. The resulting view caused traffic jams, with the Metropolitan Police finally forcing them to stop the project due to a blockage on Oxford Road.
Since 2002, the window has been photographed by London photographer Andrew Meredith and published in magazines such as Vogue , Dwell , Icon , Frame > Magazines, Creative Reviews , Hungarian Stylus Magazine , Design Week , Harper's Bazaar , New York Times , WGSN and more including press, journals, blogs and books published worldwide around the world.
Ownership
After his wife died in 1918, and his mother in 1922, Gordon wasted his fortune. In 1941, he left Selfridges.
In 1951, the store was purchased by a department store chain Lewis headquartered in Liverpool, which in turn was taken over in 1965 by Charles Clore's Sears Group. Expanded under the Sears group to include branches in Oxford, Manchester and Birmingham, in 2003 the chain was acquired by Galen Weston Canada for £ 598 million.
Expansion
In 2011, the Weston family purchased 388-396 Oxford Street, which is located just east of the Selfridges building on Duke Street, where the French Connection chain chain has leases up to 2025.
In early 2012, Selfridges commissioned the Italian architect Renzo Piano (responsible for The Shard skyscrapers in London), to work on expanding into a department store in 1909. The CoStar News Agency commented that the project could feature hotels and office space, or additional shopping departments. In May 2012, a representative of Selfridges said:
In December 2012, Selfridges acquired 100,000 square feet (9,300m 2 ) of the State House building from Hermes, which is located just behind the Oxford Street store on Wigmore Street, for around Ã, Â £ 130m.
References
External links
- Selfridges website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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