Standing alongside the A40, to the west of Central London, the Hoover Building is a remarkable landmark for visitors to London. Originally built for the American Hoover Company, the factory on Western Avenue was built as a manufacturing base for the company's British vacuum cleaner production. The most significant structures on site comprised the main block (illustrated above), an additional block - Building No 3 - to the east built by 1933, a further factory block - Building No 5 behind the main block and the canteen - Building No 7 - to the west of the main block and built in 1938.
Constructed of steel-reinforce concrete the complex of buildings was designed by the firm of Wallis, Gilbert and Partners. The architectural firm was established in 1914 and in subsequent decades designed some of the finest industrial Modernist buildings in Britain. The main block comprised a fifteen-bay block coloured brilliant-white. The external decoration of the building was inspired by ancient Egypt and featured decorative coloured faience in in red, green and blue.
By the early 1980s production at the Western Avenue site was switched to another Hoover site in Scotland. The building fell into disrepair and neglect and typified the problem of finding sustainable uses for large, architecturally-significant buildings. In 1989 the supermarket chain Tesco purchased the site. Working in co-operation with English Heritage a compromise between commercial development and heritage retention saw the significant structures - the main block, eastern range and canteen block - preserved and restored and new structures on site to house the main supermarket. The building was awarded Grade-II* listed status in October 1980.
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