Gallery I |
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Drawings for |
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Catalogue Details Tom Ellis, architect 1911-1988 A Design for a Hotel on the South Coast, c.1936 Pencil & watercolours with gouache Inscribed: Design for a Hotel on the South Coast 51 x 101.5 cms Provenance: family of the architect This hotel was designed for an exclusive site on the south coast of England by Ellis at the same time that Mendelsohn and Chermayeff's now famous De La Warr Pavilion was being built at Bexhill-on-Sea, on the south Sussex coast. This view shows the hotel from the sea looking across to the beach with its sweeping line of sand and row of parasols. Access to the beach from the hotel was provided by a spiral concrete stair (to the left) and guests could enjoy the views along the sun terrace above before stepping onto the curling stair down to the sands below. The spiral stair feature is also seen at the hotel where a large circular bay provides access to the upper floors and views out to sea. The circular stair is a motif employed by Mendelsohn and Chermayeff at the Bexhill-on-Sea Pavilion and was seen right away as a most modern and exciting architectural feature. Tom Ellis was in London by 1935 and continuing his architectural studies at the Architectural Association and the Royal College of Art. He passed his RIBA final exam in 1938. Ellis was an extremely artistic draughtsman and his love of drawing extended into many areas of his work. His flair for drawing is clearly visible in this hotel design in the way he handles the trees, the sweeping lines of the beach, spiral stair and parasols. In 1948 Ellis was invited to join Edward Lyons and Lawrence Israel as a partner in their practice and the partnership extended successfully to become the now well respected Lyons Israel Ellis and Gray. The Architectural Association held an exhibition of their work in 1988 with a well produced catalogue documenting the development of this practice. |