Favourite Buildings in Nottingham

As I have previously mentioned, I have lived in Nottingham as a student for just a little over a year now already, therefore the city isn’t unknown to me. Living in Lenton last year and now the Lace Market, I have explored the majority of the city and also its suburbs. With saying this, I find that Nottingham is rich in its landmarks and architectural culture (from the modern Nottingham Contemporary building to the Art Deco styles seen on the current YMCA building). Nevertheless, there is one building which I personally would say is my favourite building within Nottingham, this building was one of the first Boots Chemists opened in the country, although now it is known as being the building owned by Zara.

Fig 1. Zara (Bagnall, 2013)

There are many building which I could of chosen from, however in my opinion the now Zara building is the most striking of them all. As mentioned before, this building was originally a Boots chemist, built in 1904 in a very common Art Nouveau style by architect, Albert Nelson Bromley (ArtDecoFairs, 2010). Albert Nelson Bromley was a Scottish architect who was based in Nottingham and was the leading architect to the Boots the chemist (DictionaryofScottishArchitects, 2013).

The Zara building itself sits in the shadow of the Nottingham Council House, and some would argue that the council house is the most interesting building within Nottingham city centre because of its stature and size; however I believe that the Zara building is one which is shines in the shadow. The style, as mentioned, is that of Art Nouveau, which was common style used in late 19^th-early 20^th century in major cities. Its features include extreme use of curves and arches, mosaics and stained glass (Jackie Craven, 2013). If we relate this to the building itself, we can see these very common Art Nouveau styled features such as the heavy use of curves and arches (as seen by the windows) and also asymmetrical shaping towards the aesthetic of the building (Craven, 2013).

As previously stated in a previous blog, since returning I have come back to the completion of the new Students Union building (Byron), and it is another building within Nottingham which I admire. The new building is fitting with the recent regeneration of Nottingham Trent University, as a whole the campus reflects the evolving students which it houses, providing a futuristic style with the use of advanced engineering and unique aesthetics.

Bibliography

 ArtDecoFairs, 2010. Nottingham Art Deco Fairs. Uk Art Deco. Available at http://www.artdecofairs.co.uk/Counties/006P/Nottinghamshire [12th October 2014]

DictionaryofScottishArchitects, 2013. DSA Biography Report. Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Available at http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=205070 [12th October 2014]

Fig 1. Shaun Bagnall. Zara building. Photograph taken 11th October 2013.

Jackie Craven, 2013. Art Nouveau Architecture. About.com. Available at http://architecture.about.com/od/artnouveau/g/artnouveau.htm [12th October 2014]