Grand Hall and Pillar Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre

The Grand Hall (formerly the National Agricultural Hall) and the Pillar Hall (formerly the Minor Hall) were both built in 1885 in Italianate style. They were designed by architects Henry Edward Coe with James Edmeston, with engineers Arthur T Walmisley M.Inst.C.E. and Max Am Ende M.Inst.C.E. The ironwork of the Grand Hall's roof was manufactured by Handyside of Derby.

The exhibition centre also includes two later buildings described in a separate listing: Olympia National (formerly the National Hall), an annexe from 1923 by architects Holman and Goodrham, which occupies the south-east corner with its principal façade and entrances on Hammersmith Road and a prominent corner entrance at the junction with Olympia Way; and Olympia Central (originally the Empire Hall) from 1929 by architect Joseph Emberton, altered in the later 20th century, attached to the west of Olympia National with its main entrance on Hammersmith Road.

Construction and Layout

Both the Grand Hall and Pillar Hall are constructed of red brick with stone dressings. The Grand Hall has an iron, glazed roof.

The exhibition halls occupy most of the site, served by an open yard to the west with access from Blythe Road. The halls have shared ground and first floor levels in places and are linked internally, but can operate independently with their separate entrances. Internal 'streets' for vehicular movement known as Hospital Avenue and Portcullis Avenue fall within the footprint of Olympia Central and National.

The Grand Hall and the Pillar Hall are aligned on an east-west axis, with separate principal multi-storeyed entrance ranges to the east housing staircases and rooms at each level. The Grand Hall lies towards the north of the site, addressing Olympia Way opposite the entrance to Kensington Olympia station, and has an additional foyer added by Emberton. The main body of the hall lies under the barrel-vaulted roof, with an additional lean-to roof covering the surrounding gallery. To the north of the Grand Hall is the Pillar Hall, the pair linked at the ground floor by a single-storey structure with a makeshift first-floor link of later date.

Olympia Grand Hall

Exterior

Olympia Grand Hall has a basement beneath the front range and to the rear, and two further storeys to the front range at the east. The main entrance façade on Olympia Way is Italianate in style and comprises fifteen bays, with six bays flanking a central triumphal arch in a three-bay projection providing the original entrance, with stone carving to the spandrels, partially obscured by Emberton's entrance hall of 1936, itself extended with further late 20th-century additions. At each end are slightly projecting wings, all with giant order Corinthian columns. The basement windows are plainly detailed, but at the ground floor, the window openings have elaborate carved stone dressings, set in semi-circular recesses. At the first floor the windows are set in stone surrounds with semi-circular heads. The windows are wooden sashes. The curve of the Grand Hall's roof is visible above the entrance. The roof is approximately twice the height of the brick and stone façade and dominates the elevation.

Where observed the side elevations are in plain brick with modern plant attached. Attached to the north-west is the irregularly-shaped, three-storey Henley Suite (former Prince's Room), with functional brick elevations and top-lights.

Interior

The Grand Hall provides approximately 110,000 square feet (9,300 square metres) of total floor space. Most of this area is free of columns under the principal barrel vault roof, but the side projections (under their own sloping roofs) provide additional 12-metre (40-foot) stretches in the form of aisles and galleries, which are supported by further columns independent of the main roof arch.

The principal interior feature of the Grand Hall is the glazed barrel-vaulted roof with a light wrought and cast iron structure consisting of flat bars and angle irons riveted together, largely eliminating the use of plates. There is a 53-metre (170-foot) span with braced lattice ribs placed 10 metres (34 feet) apart, forming eleven bays between end screens. The main braced lattice ribs are box girders, seven feet deep and two feet wide. The total floor space on the ground floor is 134 metres (440 feet) by 250 feet between the walls, as the ground floor extends beyond the boundary of the columns supporting the roof span. The top of the roof arch is unhinged, and topped externally by a ridged ventilator (now with additional vents). Ball-and-socket joints, concealed in the foliated capitals and bases of the cast iron columns, cleverly channel the outward thrust of the arch down to the ground. Ridge-and-furrow glazed semi-circular end screens provide resistance to wind pressure and represent an early, and elegant, use of steel. From the main floor of the hall it soars to 31 metres (100 feet) at its highest.

The overall effect is one of spaciousness and decorative restraint, with the only notable stylistic features being the ironwork panels set into the balustrade of the first floor gallery that runs around the whole main body of the hall. The panels, filled with tendrils, leaves and flower motifs, include central medallions with a sheaf of corn design in relief, facing out to the hall as one of the few symbolic expressions of the original basis for the building as the National Agricultural Hall.

The front (east) range includes refreshment rooms at ground floor level with elaborate decorative plasterwork. The main stairs in this range lead to some panelled offices above where decorative plasterwork features remain. The stairs in the Henley Suite (attached to the north-west) have brass handrails, but the plan-form, fixtures and fittings are late 20th century. The interior of the Henley Suite is excluded from the listing.

The 1936 entrance hall to the Grand Hall is thought to retain some internal finishes and forms.

Pillar Hall

Exterior

The Pillar Hall to the north of the Grand Hall has a four-storey front range to the east of cranked double-height dining and assembly rooms to the rear. Stylistically, the façade complements the Grand Hall's elevation in an Italianate style, presenting a miniature palazzo frontage three bays wide. Window and door dressings are in carved stone, complete with a first floor balcony in stone and balustrade to the parapet. The central moulded timbers are contemporary. A single storey brick building with central lantern links the ground floors of the Grand and Pillar Halls. The north, south and west elevations of the Pillar Hall, not envisaged to be on display, are in plain brick with few details. Art Deco windows of about 1923 have simple floral motifs.

Interior

The Pillar Hall was designed for more intimate events with a focus on comfort and opulence. The single storey ground floor link between Olympia Grand and the Pillar Hall has timber panelling and a domed lantern, now blind; above there is a first floor link made from temporary materials. The dining room on the ground floor and assembly or lecture room on the first floor have rich neo-classical interiors by Edmeston. The dining room has Corinthian pillars on the ground floor that give the hall its current name. The coffered ceiling has rich decorative plasterwork. The assembly room on the first floor had an inserted stage at the west end, and a surrounding gallery supported on columns. Recently revealed rich plasterwork to the gallery balustrade has musical motifs, swags and floral features. The elliptical-arched roof has carved ribs rising from pilasters and there is some decorative plasterwork to the ceiling, approximately one third of which has been removed. Double doors at the east end access broad stairs that rise through the front range where kitchens, storage and offices are located on each floor.

Subsidiary Items

Between the façade of the Grand Hall and Pillar Hall are two brick gate piers with stone capping incorporated into a later brick wall. To the north of the hall is a tall red brick chimney. Attached to the north elevation of the Grand Hall are buildings of a functional nature which are not mapped.

The interior of the Henley Suite and certain other features are not of special architectural or historic interest under the terms of the listing.