Michelin House in London’s Chelsea is one of the UK capital’s most hidden architectural gems. The former English headquarters of the Michelin Company was built in 1911, and was already astonishing in its unusual style. The unique strand of English Art Nouveau used rich ornamentation in glazed tiles and mosaics and translated them into fanciful forms. The building has undergone many interior changes, but its façade is still distinguished by the distinctive Michelin mascot made of tyres – Bibendum.
Time to drink
When brothers Édouard and André founded their company to produce new interchangeable pneumatic tyres for bicycles, they probably did not anticipate that Michelin would grow into a tyre empire. An important step in building brand recognition was the creation of the brand’s well-known mascot, a tyre man named Bibendum. The name is derived from a Horatian expression: “Nunc est bibendum” (now is the time to drink), which, out of context, does not sound like it would fit a car tyre brand.
In fact, it is about a related graphic in which a tyre Bibendum drinks broken glass. This is meant to signify that the tyres are able to drive through all obstacles. Interestingly, the graphic was created by Marius Rossillion, a well-known illustrator of the time, who sold the drawing to Michelin after the original recipient, a beer company, rejected the sketch.
It is also worth mentioning that a few years after the company’s founding, the first guide to France was published, with service stations, workshops, good accommodation and restaurants highlighted. It was from this little book that the famous Michelin stars originated.
The conquest of England
The first English guidebook was published in 1911, which is when Michelin opened its headquarters in London. Michelin House at 81 Fulham Road became one of the city’s most interesting buildings soon after opening. From the outside, the building impressed with its glazed façade and stained glass windows featuring Bibendum. Inside, on the other hand, residents could find offices, a travel planning area and, of course, a workshop. The building was to be, a kind of “Michelin tyre temple”.
The façade of the storied Michelin House is symmetrical and divided into three sections. Looking from below, one notices a portico with rusticated columns and floral decoration typical of Art Nouveau. Interestingly, an openwork balustrade with the initials ‘MC’ extends below the portico. The upper part of the façade is lined with white bricks with green tiles.
The aforementioned initials decorate the heads of the pilasters protecting the massive window. Atop the central window is a pediment with an ornate stained glass window depicting Bibendum with aristocratic glasses, a cigar and a chalice full of broken glass. This element is a reproduction of a poster by Rossillion, who created the tyre man. It is worth mentioning that corrugated lamps reminiscent of Bibendum’s body have been placed at the far end of the building’s gables. Originally, sculptures of Michelin’s mascot were to stand on this spot.
The façade also contains many elements referring to Michelin products. Above the smaller windows are ornaments showing wheels with white tyres surrounded by flowers, and above the tops of the pilasters are forward-facing tyres. What’s more, the pattern extending along the parapet may be associated by some with a racing chequered flag.
The side facades are covered with two-tone brick and the aforementioned car motifs. Above the windows, glazed tiles are laid in the shape of the company’s floral initials. The tiles also form inscriptions indicating the building’s owner and its mascot. Michelin also wanted to show off its racing achievements, so there are tiled representations of significant races and drivers on both the side elevations and under the portico.
Temple of tyres
Inside, fanciful fairytale motifs intersect with symbols of motoring. But the central figure is of course Bibendum, whose likenesses adorn the mosaic floors, stained glass windows and posters. The floral design of the English Art Nouveau is the department of French architect Francois Espinasse, who is credited with designing Michelin House. The problem is that this is his only design and it is difficult to say conclusively whether he designed the building. However, regardless of who was actually behind Michelin House, it must be acknowledged that it is a work of English art derived from the Arts and Crafts movement.
In the 1930s, the company moved from Chelsea to Stoke-on-Trent which lies between Birmingham and Manchester. Over time Michelin limited its lease of the Chelsea building to the workshop. The rest of the building was leased to a storage company and then to the now defunct Ministry of Aviation. For the duration of the war, some of the stained glass was removed from the windows and the decorative lamps were hidden somewhere in the company’s warehouse in Stoke-on-Trent. The problem is that after the war these decorative elements were lost and until the 1980s the building was devoid of some of its ornaments.
The return of the star
It was not until 1985 that Michelin sold the deteriorating jewel of Art Nouveau. Two fans of the building’s unusual architecture, Sir Terence Conran and Paul Hamlyn, intended to buy the building separately, but due to their friendship decided to purchase it together. Michelin House was refurbished, some of the details were restored to their place and a restaurant was set up inside along with a shop. Interestingly, Conran’s restaurant today operates under the name Claude Bosi Bibendum Oyster Bar and boasts two Michelin stars.
Michelin House on Fulham Road is one of London’s strangest landmarks. The building has become a temple to the brand’s brilliant marketing and its iconic mascot. Today, Michelin is the largest tyre manufacturer in the world earning $28.3bn a year from tyre sales. Michelin House was an important stage in promoting the brand to a position of leadership in the continent and later the world. The monument is also a hidden symbol of the lesser-known English Art Nouveau, which was several decades ahead of the rest of Europe with its fabulousness and romantic architecture.
Source: Michelin Guide
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