Standing on King's Road on Brighton sea front Embassy Court is a fine example of the Modernist Movement. Designed by the architect Wells Coates Embassy Court was built between 1934 and 1936. Wells Coates (1895 - 1958) was a designer and architect and was responsible for many fine Modernist buildings in Britain, including the Isokon building in London and the Telekinema for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The building is a striking contrast to the surrounding Regency and Victorian-style buildings on Brighton's sea front, although clearly not on the same scale as Marine Court in nearby St Leonard's on Sea that dominates its surroundings.
The footprint of Embassy Court forms an "L" shape on King's Road and Western Street in Brighton. Constructed of rendered, reinforced concrete the building comprises twelve stories. The first to the eighth floors feature balconies and glazed bays running the length of the building. The apex of the corner of the building at the junction of King's Road and Western Street features a curved bay of windows from the first to the eighth floors. From the ninth floor upwards the remaining stories rise in a series of terraces; the final twelfth story features a canopied-roof. The balconies of adjoining flats are separated by screens.
The main entrance is on King's Road via a pair of glass doors with two side entrances on Western Road. The rear of the building, accessible via a ramp, provides additional access to the building via two external staircases and a single central lift-shaft on the Western Road wing of the building. The rear facades of the the two wings of the building feature open balconies, without and glazed bays as featured on the front of the building; as such the rear of the building is particularly striking and appears far more aggressively-Modernist than the front facade.
From the 1980s and for most of the following two decades the condition of the building began to deteriorate. A series of successive landlords failed to maintain the building. The effects of the weather and the corrosive effect of the salt air had significant consequences for the structure of the building. The situation ending up in the courts with settlement in favour of a new company. Following a £4 million restoration programme the building emerged refreshed and restored, finally representing Wells Coates' original vision for Embassy Court.
The building was awarded Grade II*-listed status on 19 July 1984.
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