Ground Floor Basic Plan - Middle Entrance
Basic Plan - 1st Floor Middle Entrance
Sunday 31 October 2010
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Close Up On Building's Materials
Traditional Roman (Sommerset House) Concrete Pillars. The exterior of the building is all of this material
Concrete floors and tiles outside, with glass on the floor. For light on the underground floor beneath. Street Pavement
Different coloured toned marble floor for a more rich look (Outside) just outside the doors
After entering you go over a long carpet. This will give the more internal look, and allow shoes to be cleaned
before setting foot on the interiors marble floor
Different tone marble floor on the interior, with gold strips for a posh, palace like effect.
Detailed interior pillars all around. Plaster and painted white. They are not concrete like the outside ones.
Granite and marble floors throughtout the building and main stairs
Iron detailed bars down the stairs with a gold handle throughout. Once again giving it a posh look
Saturday 9 October 2010
GEOLOGY OF THE AREA ** (WHITELEYS)
Red Square: Whiteleys in 1869 Survey map
Blue line represents route to shopping centre through Queensway.
Not much of a difference on the main round
Above is a map of the same area and the centre in 1974. There were not to many changes, apart from construction of new buildings in some particular areas.
Above is a link to the history of the area and images and maps throughout the years in Bayswater and Hyde park zone.
Here is another map (1940's) where Whiteleys is by Queensway to the left side.
This is the information I have gathered so far on geological maps of the area from time to time
Wednesday 6 October 2010
How whiteleys started and who found it!
He took a job with R. Willey & Company in Ludgate Hill, and then Morrison & Dillon's to learn all aspects of the trade. Whiteley lived frugally. Not smoking or drinking he was able to save up £700, enough to start his own business. London was expanding rapidly in the 1860s and after considering Islington he turned his attention to Bayswater; the area was rapidly being developed into a high class residential district. He observed the number of fashionable people using Westbourne Grove and decided to open his shop there. He started his business in 1863 by opening a Fancy Goods shop at 31 Westbourne Grove, employing two girls to serve and a boy to run errands. Later one of the girls, Harriet Sarah Hall, became his wife.
Seizing every opportunity, he acquired a row of shops in Westbourne Grove in 1867 and turned them into 17 departments. Dressmaking was started in 1868, and a house agency and refreshment room, the first ventures outside drapery, opened in 1872. By then 622 people were employed on the premises and a further 1,000 outside. Whitley started selling food in 1875, and a building and decorating department was added in 1876. This proved to be particularly profitable, as the large stuccoed houses in the area needed regular repainting. Claiming that he could provide anything from a pin to an elephant, William Whiteley dubbed himself "The Universal Provider".
He met strong opposition from smaller tradesmen, and also from the local authorities over his grand building plans, and several bad fires in the 1880s may have been caused by opponents. Business nonetheless prospered, aided by a delivery service extending up to 25 miles (40 km), and in 1887 the store was described as 'an immense symposium of the arts and industries of the nation and of the world'.
By 1890 over 6,000 staff were employed in the business, most of them living in company-owned male and female dormitories, having to obey 176 rules and working 7 am to 11 pm, six days a week. Whiteley also bought massive farmlands and erected food-processing factories to provide produce for the store and for staff catering. In 1896 he earned an unsolicited Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria - an unprecedented achievement.
Seizing every opportunity, he acquired a row of shops in Westbourne Grove in 1867 and turned them into 17 departments. Dressmaking was started in 1868, and a house agency and refreshment room, the first ventures outside drapery, opened in 1872. By then 622 people were employed on the premises and a further 1,000 outside. Whitley started selling food in 1875, and a building and decorating department was added in 1876. This proved to be particularly profitable, as the large stuccoed houses in the area needed regular repainting. Claiming that he could provide anything from a pin to an elephant, William Whiteley dubbed himself "The Universal Provider".
He met strong opposition from smaller tradesmen, and also from the local authorities over his grand building plans, and several bad fires in the 1880s may have been caused by opponents. Business nonetheless prospered, aided by a delivery service extending up to 25 miles (40 km), and in 1887 the store was described as 'an immense symposium of the arts and industries of the nation and of the world'.
By 1890 over 6,000 staff were employed in the business, most of them living in company-owned male and female dormitories, having to obey 176 rules and working 7 am to 11 pm, six days a week. Whiteley also bought massive farmlands and erected food-processing factories to provide produce for the store and for staff catering. In 1896 he earned an unsolicited Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria - an unprecedented achievement.
Central London Geology
Geology image of area where shopping centre is. Central London is seen as the Number 4. Made mainly of bagshot beds and what is known as London clay
Outside and Entering the building with main annotations -
Whiteleys (Half) Entrance. When walking towards the entrance the public understands that it is not private as there are no barriers, or anything blocking the public from going in. The three entrances give it a more bigger (palace like) look and allow the flow of people coming in and out to stay steady, without interfearence. The big 'W' whiteleys sign also works as a welcome sign to everyone.
Left side view after road crossing, focusing in between the 2 sets of pillars
Focusing in the middle entrance from the right side.
Taking a look at the open public area before entering inside. Focusing on the space
and materials. Also I find the two statues quite interesting and I've never noticed them before.
Right side of the entrance there is a small hall with a lift.
I also noticed the changes of the rough and stony material outside to a more soft and shining material used inside. There are also big matts at the entrance which give it a more internal look just like people's homes.
Open space after entering the building and feeling comfortable and warm. Door at the end is for staff.
When entering you first get a small picture of the building but a few steps after you get a full
view and notice how big this building's main entrance actually is.
Open space with patterned flooring. 3 door entrance into the shoppin centre
A lot of movement in this area from all sides of the building.
When coming in turn to the right, you'll notice this side of the building with all the stores.
I realised that the small cafe divisions in the middle allow people to walk in a certain flow
and not be disturbed by someone coming the wrong way because it is spacious
and passers by normally stick to the left side.
When entering the building if you look to your left you'll see the same number of stores on this side
and shops in the middle. There is also a ramp for disabled people, which is pathway used by everybody.
This is looking into the entrance but from a longer distance. You will notice the small step into this circular zone with a bit of the main Whiteleys double stairs showing.
Left side stair from where I am facing.
Right side stair from where I am facing. Both stairways are exactly similar, and have a great amount of
detail on them. They are black and made of iron and marble.
This type of stairway normally gives a building a very grand look.
A look from the entrance at the stairs which lead to the first floor. This idea
really gave this open space a grand and posh look and allows easier access upstairs.
When crowded there is no traffic since people going down and up always use the left side.
One side of this big circular space
Another part of the circular space. (1st and second floor only)
Another side (Ground floor and 1st floor) 2 pillars on every side to give it that palace look
and hold the structure of this building together from the centre.
The hallway to the left. There is another circular space like this a bit further but not with an entrance.
The reaso why I chose this area it's because it is the heart of this building and where main
important events take place. You can also view the beauty of the shopping centre through here.
Looking up from ground floor. The floors in this part of the building are symmetrical
and have the same shape as shown throughout the open roundabout of the building.
The glass at the top allows a natural great amount of light source inside.
You can also see that this building has 3 floors and a ground floor in this picture.
Another view in the same area looking up...
As you can see the pattern of the round space is the same throughout. A small balcony surrounded by 2 pillars all round.
Monday 4 October 2010
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