Art Deco in Durban
Encyclopedia
Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 is a truly international style. Born in the 1920s the movement's origins are French. In the 1930s American designers adopted it as their own distinctive style with impressive effect. Yet throughout the world many other countries also identified with the style and added their own local interpretation to it. Art Deco buildings can be found in widely dispersed settings from Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, Malaysia to Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. (See visual examples in the gallery below.) New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...



In the 1930s the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n harbour city, Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, embraced the new style called Art Deco. Numerous buildings, especially residential apartment blocks, were erected in this new design. The styling on the Art Deco buildings reflect the different backgrounds of the city's population some with a strong emphasis on the city's maritime background, other reflecting the interests of Durban's Muslim traders. Some of the buildings pay allegiance to Durban's long association with the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, such as Empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....

 and Dominion Courts while others recognise Indian connections, KM Ebrahim Building and Sayed Fakroodeen Building. Exemplary examples of the style include Surrey Mansions (Currie Road), Berea Court (Berea Road West), Colonial Mutual Building (West Street and the Memorial Tower Building (King George V Avenue). The cenotaph
Durban cenotaph
The Durban cenotaph was erected in Farewell Square, Durban, South Africa, as a memorial to fallen soldiers of World War I.Standing about 11 metres high, the monument is built of granite decorated with glazed ceramic tiles depicting two angels raising the soul of a dead soldier...

 in the central square outside the City Hall is another striking Art Deco construction.

Plight of Some Deco Examples

Sadly some of the once grand buildings in and around the city centre are now in poor repair, neglected because the areas they are now located in house low income groups and even squatters. The newly formed Durban Art Deco Society has, however, been active in raising awareness of the value Art Deco buildings bring to the city's heritage. They have helped building owners and body corporates restore, paint and renovate fixtures and fittings.

Art Deco Directory

In an attempt to raise awareness, educate and protect the Art Deco heratige an inventory of some of the major buildings has been conducted and published on the Internet. See Durban Deco Directory

See also

  • Art Deco
    Art Deco
    Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

  • Durban
    Durban
    Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

  • List of Art Deco buildings in Melbourne
  • List of Art Deco buildings in Tasmania
  • Napier, New Zealand
    Napier, New Zealand
    Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...


External links

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