De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea

The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill On Sea is known as an "iconic Modernist building" which was created to be a "democratic space for art, culture and recreation" and championed by Herbrand Sackville, the 9th Earl De La Warr (DLWP website). De La Warr (20 June 1900 to 28 January 1976) inherited his title when his father died whilst on active service in 1915, and became the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party; he was just 23 years old when he became a junior minister in the first ever Labour Government in February 1924. Later, in April 1933 and as Mayor of Bexhill, De La Warr proposed a scheme for an entertainment hall/pavilion, which received overwhelming support from the people of Bexhill, and a loan of £70,000 was obtained from the Ministry of Health to cover the cost of the project (Discover Bexhill website).

RIBA were asked to hold a competition for the building design, which was announced in The Architects journal in September 1933, and which received 230 entrants. The same journal in February 1934 declared the winner of the £150 first prize to be the architects Serge Chermayeff (8 October 1900 to 8 May 1996) and Erich Mendelsohn (21 March 1887 to 15 September 1953). Chermayeff was a Russian born British citizen who had been practicing as an architect for 3 years when Mendlesohn joined him as a partner in their own firm in 1933. Mendlesohn had been practicing as an architect in Germany but, with the rise to power of the Nazis and growing antisemitism, his assets were seized and he was excluded from the Prussian Academy of Arts and struck off the German Architects Union; he had fled to Britain in 1933.

The design was a blend of Art Deco style integrated with Modernist materials and construction techniques, indeed, the first Modernist public building. Mendelsohn had a passion for the use of concrete and glass with a welded steel frame which was unprecedented before his arrival to this country, and he was lauded by many of his British peers. This 'passion' ensured that Mendelsohn became "an integral part in spearheading the modernist movement throughout the world" (Arch Daily website). 

So, the De La Warr Pavilion really is 'iconic' and, if you haven't already visited, you should think about going as soon as the current Coronavirus crisis is over, I certainly will be there asap. There is an excellent restaurant on the first floor, and I love sitting on the balcony, drinking coffee, and enjoying the view over the Channel, roll on!