Disclaimer This blog is about the graphic design of burglar alarms and has no connection with the companies featured. Most photos show vintage sounders and are not the latest products of the firms under discussion. For up-to-date info on any company, please visit their official website.
Burglar Alarm Britain
Where vigilante culture meets vernacular design
Category Archives: Architectural
Ghost under “Arrow”, Chelsea: neat niche
Posted by on November 5, 2012
Ghost under “Arrow Security” burglar alarm, Kensington and Chelsea • I know I’ve already shown this Arrow, but in that post you couldn’t clearly see it was snuggling into the neat niche burrowed by a shield-shaped Banham (or one of their sub-brands). • Spotted: Beauchamp Place, Kensington and Chelsea, London, SW3, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Kensington
“Chevron Alarms”, Windsor: arrows over arrows
Posted by on April 3, 2012
“Chevron Alarms Protects” burglar alarm, Windsor • Finally, to end this “arrow” theme, what purports to be a chevron, but to my mind also passes as a double arrow, certainly in the typographical sense. And if you check out the wall I found it on (below), you’ll see there’s an architectural arrow directly above it. This is the last arrow for now: tomorrow, the rather less warlike theme of botanical sounders. • Spotted: St Leonards Road, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4, England, 2009 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Windsor
Hey, there's an arrow above the arrow!
“King Alarms”, Hounslow: waterborne jester
Posted by on January 3, 2012
“King Alarms” burglar alarm, Hounslow • It looks more like a jester’s hat than a crown, and it’s on a boat (see below for entire vessel). Which is probably the best place to be if you live in Brentford. • Spotted: canal path off Kew Bridge Road, Brentford, Hounslow, London, TW8, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Brentford and Isleworth
“C&H” and nameless alarm, Sheffield: Victorian duo
Posted by on December 7, 2011
“C&H Alarms” and nameless burglar alarm, Sheffield • Finally, not exactly a multiple, but such a nice pairing it looks deliberate – a fancy new C&H sounder on a charming pink wall, showing up its plain-faced companion on dowdy unpainted bricks, united by the curlicued Myrtles plaque, hovering like some protective Victorian auntie. (I’m wasted here – I should be writing hackneyed romantic fiction, not burglar alarm descriptions.) I found them near Hillsborough Stadium, home to Sheffield Wednesday, on an enforced tour of various football grounds – always fertile ground for burglar alarms too, fortunately. • Spotted: Parkside Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S6, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
“ADT”, Hackney: Cyberman piping
Posted by on December 6, 2011
“ADT” burglar alarms, Hackney • I spotted these above an art gallery (Hoxton Square’s full of them), and though not quite as impressive as the Design Museum’s “Daisy” ADTs, it still looks a bit like a crappy art installation. To put it in art-speak, there’s a poignant narrative tension in the way the lower ADT has been eternally blocked from joining its elevated companion by the Cyberman-esque piping snuggling round its head. And there’s a cubist element in the repeated angles reminiscent of Paul Noble’s Nobson Newtown, an immense pencil-drawn metropolis of everyday turd-folk presented in isometric projection (I’m not making this up) … surely a contender for the Turner Prize next year. OK, that’s enough spurious justification of a boring shot of two ADT burglar alarms. • Spotted: Hoxton Square, Hackney, London, N1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Hackney South and Shoreditch
“Alpha”, Manchester: flying ducks
Posted by on December 5, 2011
“Alpha” burglar alarms, Manchester • The graphic designer in me enjoys seeing things neatly aligned, and these two random Alphas don’t comply, looking like flying ducks missing a third bird. Fledgling burglar alarm engineers should take note: compare them with the preceeding carefully-considered compositions and see how much more pleasing sounders look when placed with architectural precision. • Spotted: Little Peter Street, Manchester, Lancashire, M15, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Manchester Central
“Advanced Integrated Systems”, Bristol: rude name
Posted by on December 4, 2011
“Advanced Integrated Systems” burglar alarms, Bristol • It’s somewhat hard to see, but there are two tiny black alarms on this geometrical Dutch-inspired office block, carefully aligned between the white globe lights and the roof’s twin peaks, and placed in the troughs left by two earlier sounders. Sadly despite its unusual design it’s a rather dull building, enlivened only by a rude but amusing graffiti play on its name, Amelia Court. Scroll down for the new, improved Anglo-Saxon version; I won’t spell it out, or I’ll get loads of spam from dodgy “adult” sites. • Spotted: Pipe Lane, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West
“Initial”, Bath: free cheese
Posted by on December 3, 2011
“Initial” burglar alarms, Bath • This building is so Bath – it looks as if it’s falling apart, but is full of expensive stuff. Arranged like a kitchen sink still-life from the art gallery within, the twin Initial alarms balance the tubs of dying plants beneath, with a scruffy tableau of junk in the top right window adding a final downbeat flourish. I always love Bath for the first day I’m there, then start to hate it in all its small-town, early-closing dullness – the best thing I discovered last time was The Star Inn, an ancient pub that serves real ale and occasional free cheese, albeit mainly to groups of 50-something men discussing Dr Who. • Spotted: George Street, Bath, Avon, BA1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bath
“AC Leigh”, Norwich: 1970s Habitat chic
Posted by on December 2, 2011
“AC Leigh (Security)” burglar alarms, Norwich • Oooh, retro – 1970s Habitat chic comes to Norwich, as modelled by a neat pair of vintage sounders in orange and cream on a stained beige background. I’m guessing the top one’s for burglars, the bottom one for fires. • Spotted: Town centre, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1, England, 2007 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Norwich South
“Ape Fire & Security”, Bristol: watchful simians
Posted by on December 1, 2011
“Ape Fire & Security” burglar alarms, Bristol • I’ve already commented on the oddness of APE’s logo, and still don’t know what the unfortunate acronym stands for. Anyway, here’s a pair of watchful simians hanging from yet another graceful Bristol building – the locals don’t seem to have much to do except sling random sounders up all over their beautiful and historic city, which makes it a great hunting ground for me. • Spotted: St Nicholas Street, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West
Nameless alarms, Bristol: grand establishment
Posted by on November 30, 2011
Nameless burglar alarms, Bristol • This grand old Bristol building houses Thorne Security, who were founded in 1858, so are possibly as old as their establishment. I’m assuming the two mysterious black bell boxes belong to them; however Thorne don’t appear to install intruder alarms as part of their extensive security activities, which is perhaps why the sounders are nameless. (They don’t deal in sabres either, despite having one in their logo.) • Spotted: Wine Street, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West
“CSL”, Southwark: alarm overkill
Posted by on November 29, 2011
“CSL” burglar alarms, Southwark • It looks like new burglar alarms are welcome too… • Spotted: Borough High Street, Southwark, London, SE1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark
“Securebase”, Hackney: semi-gentrified triplets
Posted by on November 28, 2011
“Securebase” burglar alarms, Hackney • Although this heritage-green property in a semi-gentrified road near Hackney’s riot central looks like a shop front, from its trio of bell pushes I deduce that the neatly-aligned Securebase triplets relate to three separate properties within. QED. • Spotted: Chatsworth Road, Hackney, London, E5, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington
“SDS Security”, Southwark: posh option
Posted by on November 27, 2011
“SDS Security” burglar alarms, Southwark • A stormy sky lights up three SDS boxes clad in shiny chrome, which I now know is the expensive option for sounder casings. They’re somewhat too posh for the pitted concrete wall, though the combination is reminiscent of installations by many a contemporary artist, eg Turner Prize nominee Martin Boyce. They look too closely spaced to represent the alarms for three different floors, but that’s the only explanation I can think of for the arrangement. • Spotted: Wild’s Rents, Southwark, London, SE1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark
Nameless alarms, Lambeth: anonymous fortress
Posted by on November 26, 2011
Nameless burglar alarms, Lambeth • Whereas yesterday’s burglar alarms really were an art installation, these just look like one. They suddenly appeared atop a cute little renovated industrial block near where I live, back in the heady days when people were still redeveloping things and, for some reason, painting them all shiny blue. Given the building resembles a shoebox-sized concrete fortress, with apparently no windows, I’m surprised it needs one alarm, let alone four, though their anonymity at least matches the unit’s inscrutable appearance. • Spotted: Carlisle Lane, Lambeth, London, SE1, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Vauxhall
“ADT”, Southwark: daisy chain
Posted by on November 25, 2011
“ADT” burglar alarms, Southwark • I often find clusters of bell boxes, but they’re usually random and mis-matched. However now and then I come across groups of identical sounders arranged into geometrical compositions, which – to use a fine art term – I think of as burglar alarm “multiples”. This one takes the biscuit: six plastic daisies with ADT alarms as their centres, dancing across a wide white wall. It was a temporary installation on the side of London’s Design Museum in 2005, but I never found out what it was in aid of. I quite liked the mystery, but after 30 seconds on Google I’ve discovered it was Daisy T from Sweet Dreams Security, “the ADT alarmbox flower attachment [that] transforms your existing alarmbox from dull and dreary to chirpy and cheery”. In the mid-noughties the firm, brainchild of ex-graphic designer Matthias Megyeri, made some amazingly cute security products – from a CCTV camera disguised as a cat and butterfly-studded razor wire to teddybear padlocks and heart-shaped chain links (which sounds more like high-end bondage gear than a burglar deterrent). Apparently Megyeri was struck by the bizarre mixture of security and kitsch he saw on London homes, as compared with his native Stuttgart in Germany – especially all the ADT sounders – and set out to combine the two “to change the visual language of security products from depressing to seriously humorous”. • Spotted: Shad Thames, Southwark, London, SE1, England, 2005 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark
“Ace”, Southwark: trapped
Posted by on September 17, 2011
“Ace” burglar alarm, Southwark • My final cage is an accidental one – a bondage burglar alarm trapped behind some random piping. It’s on an taxi garage under the vast railway viaduct that scythes through Bankside in London. Painted a jaunty red, it’s a rare survivor of the old-skool businesses that used to make this area so interesting, now all being replaced by identikit glass apartment blocks aimed at a seemingly endless supply of rich international students. In my day, students lived in slums heated by leaving the oven door open till the gas meter ran out – those were the days! (Note, I am not old enough for it to have been poisonous “town gas”.) But at least we got grants… • Spotted: Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark, London, SE1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark
“JMJ”, Sheffield: ill-fitting
Posted by on September 16, 2011
“JMJ” burglar alarm, Sheffield • Thanks to a comment on yesterday’s JB-Eye post, I now know that its red, horizontal-barred cage was an off-the-peg number. So what about this ill-fitting jobbie? Was it originally made for a jewel-shaped box (I wish someone would tell me what the proper name is for that shape) which later got replaced? Or is this the only shape you can get? As an aside, I cannot say how stupid I felt saying to my travelling companion, “hang on, I have to take a photo of that burglar alarm in an ill-fitting cage”. I have had many such moments, but I remember this unedifying spot, next to an unpleasant bar surrounded by broken glass, as a particular low point. • Spotted: Eldon Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Sheffield Central
“JB-Eye”, Manchester: off-the-peg?
Posted by on September 15, 2011
“JB-Eye Security Systems” burglar alarm, Manchester • I’ve already commented on the Pacman-ness of JB-Eye, but what I’m wondering about here is the cage. Was it specially made for this bell box? Or are there off-the-peg alarm cages available? This question will make more sense when tomorrow’s example has been posted. • Spotted: Deansgate area, Manchester, Lancashire, M1, England, 2009 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Manchester Central
“King Security Ltd”, Sheffield: Shakespearean
Posted by on September 14, 2011
“King Security Ltd” burglar alarm, Sheffield • A caged King in Campo Lane – there’s something rather Shakespearean about that. It’s on a little old-fashioned jewellers called DH Baines & Co; the spire reflected in the window belongs to Sheffield Cathedral, which was opposite (and probably still is). • Spotted: Campo Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Sheffield Central
“CTS”, Glasgow: half-cut
Posted by on September 13, 2011
“CTS” burglar alarm, Glasgow • This bit of Glasgow’s so posh, they only needed to cage half the burglar alarm, ha ha. It’s actually above a doorway in a railway arch, hence the artistic composition, which looks like the kind of “intervention” you might find in a pop-up gallery in a multi-storey car park (I’m not making this up). As it happens, there was a pop-up gallery in the next-door railway arch (it was during an art festival), so who knows – maybe it actually was a piece of art. • Spotted: Merchant City area, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G1, Scotland, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Glasgow Central
“Lee Security.com”, Islington: caged
Posted by on September 12, 2011
“Lee Security.com” burglar alarm, Islington • Things have come to a pretty pass when not just the windows, but even the burglar alarm has to be protected by wire mesh. And this isn’t from some ultra-deprived inner-city riot zone, but the posh-restaurant hot-spot of Clerkenwell. Those foodies must be desperate folk. • Spotted: St John Street, Islington, London, EC1, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Islington South and Finsbury
“MR”, Islington: ultimate deterrent
Posted by on August 16, 2011
“MR Security” burglar alarm, Islington • Finally, the ultimate nightmare – when pigeon spikes stop working. This row of shops was encrusted with spikes, but also with bird poo. Time to call in the hawks… • Spotted: Stroud Green Road, Islington, London, N4, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Islington North
Above: a hawk – the ultimate pigeon deterrent
“Fox”, York: screeching stalker
Posted by on August 15, 2011
“Fox Systems” burglar alarm, York • This alarm just looks like someone stuck a load of giant hatpins on it, though the stalking fox lends an air of surrealism. (The fox is a popular burglar alarm beast, as I shall illustrate soon.) My local area is aswarm with both foxes and pigeons, whose habits of night time screeching and daytime shitting are not a great combination. I blame Ken Livingstone, who had the pigeons chased away from Trafalgar Square with hawks. They all ended up on my balcony, and presumably the foxes followed. • Spotted: Swinegate Court East, York, Yorkshire, YO1, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of York Central
“Krypton”, Nottingham: noble gas
Posted by on August 14, 2011
“Krypton Security” burglar alarm, Nottingham • Blimey – even Krypton can’t keep the evil pigeons at bay! OK, I know it’s Krypronite that can nobble Superman; Krypton, apart from being the fictional planet he came from, is in real life a rare but slightly dull “noble gas“, shown bottled below. • Spotted: Forman Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Nottingham East
Above: a vial of glowing ultrapure krypton (from Images of Elements)
“Direct”, Beckenham: terror eyes
Posted by on August 13, 2011
“Direct Security” burglar alarm, Beckenham • Aha, there’s room on top of this burglar alarm for a really avant-garde pigeon deterrent. Nothing as mundane as spikes, though: how about a pretend owl with a rotating head at £16.99 (below), an ultrasonic sound system for just £880.55, or – barmiest of all – a giant orange balloon with animated “terror eyes“, only £70.90? No? Kind of shows why pigeon spikes are so popular. • Spotted: High Street, Beckenham, Kent, BR3, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Beckenham
Above, barmy so-called bird scarers: swivelly-headed owl, ultrasonic sound system and giant orange “terror eyes” ball
“3D”, Winchester: WWII spike machine
Posted by on August 12, 2011
“3D Security Systems Defend Deter Detect” burglar alarm, Winchester • Defend, Deter, Detect – an ambitious claim which unwittingly sugests this firm is third, rather than first, choice for defence. It clearly needs help with pigeons though: perhaps they use the eponymous “Defender” pigeon spikes from Jones & Son, who sport a brilliant logo with a pigeon standing on it, and seem to have cornered the market. Much as I dislike the look of bird spikes, saving the nation from disappearing beneath piles of guano seems a noble enough cause, especially as the firm offers – perhaps rashly – a large bar of chocolate if they don’t answer pigeon control email queries within two hours. They also have a crazy reconditioned WWII wire-bending machine on which they make the spikes – perfect cover for a Blitz alarm! • Spotted: Town centre, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Winchester
“GCD”, Windsor: punk haircut
Posted by on August 11, 2011
“GCD Security” burglar alarm, Windsor • This sounder looks like it’s got a punk haircut, and I like the way Thunderbirds-modern Eurostile font logo matches the cobalt sky. You don’t often get days like this in England – apart from the burglar alarm, the scene looks more like Florida than Windsor. The photo was taken by a very patient burglar alarm-hunting companion, who’s actually more interested in Neanderthals than burglars, and tweets about our ancient ancestors here.• Spotted: Town centre, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4, England, 2009 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Windsor
“Banham”, Westminster: rockabilly quiff
Posted by on August 10, 2011
“Banham” burglar alarm, City of Westminster • This is the first time I ever noticed a burglar alarm adorned with pigeon spikes: it struck me as quite amusing, especially as Banham’s shield shape looks like a head with a rockabilly quiff. It’s in Goodwins Court, a really old-fashioned gas-lit alley full of bow-fronted shops – built around 1690 and little changed today – tucked away between the Strand and Covent Garden (there’s a good article about it here). Predictably, it’s now part of a Harry Potter tour, though it’s not the original “Diagon Alley” – that’s thought to be nearby Cecil Court, famed for its quaint non-virtual shops selling weird and wonderful (and stupidly expensive) old books. • Spotted: Goodwins Court, City of Westminster, London, WC2, England, 2003 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Cities of London and Westminster
“Globe”, Lewisham: wonkily cowering
Posted by on August 9, 2011
“Globe Security” burglar alarm, Lewisham • What I like about this is the contrast between aspiration and reality (one of the driving factors behind my entire burglar alarm collection, in fact). The sounder belongs to proudly-named Globe Security, suggesting megalomaniacal international reach with its image of an entire hemisphere. And yet here it is, wonkily cowering in a back alley of Deptford, South London – not even armed with its own guano deterrent but lurking behind a filthy pigeon-spiked security light, and semi-obscuring a ventilation grille. Aah, Deptford: home to half the world’s races, quite possibly, but hardly a glamorous hub of global domination. • Spotted: Resolution Way, Lewisham, London, SE8, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Lewisham Deptford
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