Conran and Michelin House, Fulham Road

"I can honestly say that the day I opened Michelin House was the happiest day of my life.

The site of the first Habitat store was just over the road from the building and over the years I had fallen in love with the delightfully quirky Art Deco architecture of the Michelin Building. I dreamt about transforming it into a wonderful shop and - of course - a first class restaurant. Not only is it filled with charming ceramic and glass details and embellishments but it is also the first pre-cast concrete building in the UK with gently sloping floors that allowed tyres to roll from one end of the building to the tyre fitting bay at the front.

I wrote endless letters to the Michelin head quarters in France asking them what they intended to do with the building as it appeared to be unused. Something I pointed out to them on many occasions.

One glorious day in 1985 I discovered that they were prepared to sell so I immediately rushed to see their managing director - I promised him that I would restore the building to its former glory and that Michelin would be proud of the building when it was finished.

After agreeing to repair all the original features, including the stained-glass widows, the Bibendum-esq light fittings and the damaged faience tiling on the façade, Michelin finally agreed to sell. Our enthusiasm had won the day and Michelin House was to be converted into a huge Conran Shop and a restaurant and oyster bar.

The building was extensively refurbished and re-modelled by our architects in 1987."

Terence Conran