Amex House
| Amex House | |
|---|---|
The building from the southeast, pictured in 2010 | |
Location within Brighton | |
| General information | |
| Type | Corporate headquarters |
| Architectural style | Modernist |
| Location | Brighton and Hove |
| Address | Edward Street, Carlton Hill BN88 1AH |
| Town or city | Brighton |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°49′23″N 0°07′58″W / 50.8230°N 0.1328°W |
| Construction started | 1977 |
| Completed | 1977 |
| Demolished | 2017 |
| Cost | £10–15 million |
| Owner | American Express Europe Ltd |
| Height | 46 m (151 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Diameter | 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 9 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Gollins, Melvin, Ward & Partners |
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Amex House, popularly nicknamed The Wedding Cake, was the former European headquarters of American Express, a multinational financial services company. Its site is located in the Carlton Hill area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The nine-floor building, designed by British architecture firm Gollins, Melvin, Ward & Partners, was commissioned by the company in 1977 to consolidate their operations in Brighton, which had been spread over several sites. The white and blue structure, a landmark on the city skyline, received both praise and criticism for its distinctive style.
Demolition work began in April 2016 after the completion of a new headquarters building on land owned by American Express adjacent to the site. In October 2017 demolition was completed and the site was sold to First Base and Patron Capital, a pan-European institutional investor focused on property backed investments who proposed "a vibrant new mixed-use development including new homes, workspace and importantly, new jobs to revive this area of Brighton".