Housing Projects 2013

HOUSING PROJECTS 2013//

Birmingham School of Architecture

BA [Hons] Architecture Level 5 2013//2014 ARC5001 [03] Precedent Analysis

This book brings together precedent studies of some of the best examples of British housing. The work was undertaken by year 2 students over a two week period. They were also responsible for editing and producing the book.

Professor Jim Low + Hannah Vowles Level 5 tutors.

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Editing Team_ Tamanna Akhter Joshua Boardman Joseph Bowman Callum Campbell Adriana Chesaru Jac Doody Matt Evans Gaurav Janey

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CONTENTS [01] Bedford Park

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[02] Boundary Estate

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[03] Keeling House

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[04] Span Blackheath

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[05] The Ryde

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[06] Robin Hood Gardens

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[07] Highgrove

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[08] Alexandra + Ainsworth

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[09] Lillington Gardens

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[10] Odhams Walk

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[11] Byker

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[12] Accordia

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[13] Harper Square

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[01] Bedford Park

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Construction:

1877

Architects:

Richard Norman Shaw

Location:

West London

Size:

24 acres

Total number of houses:

356

Density:

14 homes per acre

Bedford Park came to fruition as the architect’s experiment to provide housing for London’s middle class, who had been increasingly more influenced by the arts and crafts movements.

The development was undertaken in four main stages, changing architects and, consequently, evolving design proposals. The vision of the land owner and the overall project overseer was to create residential areas that built communities around gardens and open fields, evoking a sense of the countryside in contrast with the built environment.

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Bedford Park’s design was classified as English baroque with Dutch/ Flemish influence, characterised by the many rounded and stepped gables and large sash windows.

Health considerations were taken into account towards the detailed planning of ventilation and drainage systems, allowing good air circulation and preventing the onset of water-related infections and diseases.

Many of the original buildings are now Grade II listed and are still inhabited by local families with small renovation works to the housing.

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[02] Boundary Estate

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Construction:

1900

Architects:

London County Council

Location:

Shoreditch, London

Size:

12.5 acres

Total number of apartments:

1069

Density:

85 homes per acre

The Boundary Estate is the first project commissioned by the London County Council in 1893 and it is, arguably, the world’s first social housing scheme. It replaced one of the worst housing areas in the late Victorian London, in an effort to provide adequate housing to its 5700 residents.

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Many of the estate’s features promoted the well-being of the residents.

However, as a social project, it was deemed a failure. High rent and prejudice against living in flats resulted in only 11 residents being rehoused, while the rest moved to other areas of East London, which presented worsening housing conditions. Instead, clerks, nurses, policemen and other working class families moved to the Boundary Estate.

Due to the design and high-quality materials used, there has only been one major renovation of the estate, in the 1960s. The estate still provides social and private housing to over 1000 people in 600 flats.

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[03] Keeling House

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Construction:

1954

Architects:

Denys Lasdun

Location:

Bethnal Green, London

Size:

16 storeys

Total number of apartments:

72

The project is a multi-storey residential building located in the Bethnal Green area of London. It was originally part of a larger social housing scheme proposed by the local planning authority.

Keeling House was built on similar principles to two already completed projects in the same district. Although a modernist approach was adopted in the design phase, the architect questioned whether it would account for the aspects that made a neighbourhood work.

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Ladsun’s purpose was to include ideals of the community, replicating the relations between neighbours in the traditional Victorian terraced houses.

For example, the orientation was constructed for the flats to overlook each other. This was to encourage interaction between inhabitants, as well as to offer communal surveillance.

The scheme was popular initially, before declining in the 1970s and 1980s due to social problems in estates at the time. The building was given a Grade II listing in 1993 and was renovated into luxury flats in 2000 by private developers

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[04] Span Blackheath

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Construction:

1956

Architects:

Eric Lyons

Location:

Blackheath, London

This urban intervention is located in Blackheath, an inner suburban area in the South-East side of London. Following WWII, this area was facing the same acute housing shortage spread throughout the city. The large scale of the problem inspired a widespread adoption of modernist solutions for high-rise living.

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The vision of the Span project was to combine the modernist interventions of ‘high-rise’ with Victorian principles of the English suburb. The interventions were spread over several sites within older areas of the London suburbs, mainly due to the higher land costs of suburban sites closer to the city centre.

The four sites in question, constructed between 1953 and 1967, had several ideals to reach through their design. Most importantly, there was a desire to include the sense of community and establish an idea of society within the estate. This was achieved by developing the sites into the landscape, leaving open garden spaces that could be used as social areas.

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[05] The Ryde

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Construction:

1963

Architects:

Phippen, Randall + Parkes

Location:

Hatfield

Size:

2.75 acres

Total number of houses:

28

Density:

10 homes per acre

The brief of the project had a few basic guidelines: it was to be designed as low cost housing regarding materiality and construction, the location - close to the railway and existing industrial sites - would need to be considered and the interests of the Cockaigne members had to be put at the forefront of the design.

The sense of community was also a key point of interest.

Open spaces were planned for activities and interaction between residents of the estate.

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Materiality was considered primarily at a cost effective standpoint, using traditional concrete breeze block and cavity wall structures with a wooden beam ceiling, topped with an asphalt roof, to keep costs down.

Most of the buildings were Grade II listed and suffered some degradation.

However, they are still currently occupied and the listed status has not interfered with the renovations carried out.

The estate is now seen as an attractive place to live and the unit cost exceeds the average of the surrounding area.

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[06] Robin Hood Gardens

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Construction:

1972

Architects:

Peter + Alison Smithson

Location:

Tower Hamlets, London

Size:

5 acres

Total number of apartments:

214

Density:

42 homes per acre

The brief called for the design of a new social housing project. The initial idea proposed by the Greater London Council was an effort to re-plan the city and experiment in post war architecture.

Robin Hood Gardens was seen as a redevelopment project. The scheme was constrained to being a quick and economic construction, offering a new and exciting way of living in the city centre.

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The aesthetics of the building followed a brutalist rationale, as well as the adoption of the ‘streets in the sky’ concept. It was also tailored to its location, taking into consideration the nearby roads, docks and rail networks.

Although the design satisfied some of its primary criteria in being an economic and efficient design, the desired outcome of the project was not fully achieved. This was mainly due to overcrowding and deteriorating living conditions, which led to the scheduled demolition in April 2013.

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[07] Highgrove

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Construction:

1972-1977

Architects:

Edward Cullinan Architects

Location:

Ruislip, Greater London

Size:

8 acres

Total number of dwellings:

102 dwellings

Density:

12 per acre

In the 1960s, Hillingdon council were trying to fill a eight acre greenfield site that had been attached to the Highgrove house. Due to the oil crisis at the time, developers were forced to sell the site to the council.

The architects were asked to keep low building costs. The houses were organised in terraces on a grid layout between the roads, which created a suburban environment. The intention was to create an open plan both outside and inside.

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However, while circulation within the site was improved by the system of alleyways, accessibility from the main roads was somewhat restricted.

The plan was having four gardens in one. It would create a vast area of open space, a place for social interaction. The result: people were unhappy with the perception of lower levels of privacy and security. Hedges and fences were used to create boundaries and divide the large open space into more private dwellings.

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[08] Alexandra + Ainsworth

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Construction:

1978

Architects:

Camden Council Architects

Location:

Camden, London

Size:

5.4 hectares

Total number of dwellings:

520

Density:

96 homes per hectare

The project design for the Alexandra Road Estate was finished in 1968. It was a plan for a low-rise, high density project to challenge the government’s tendency towards high-rise buildings.

The scale of the estate made it one of the most expensive housing schemes in the country. The façade of Alexandra Road needed constant maintenance, but due to the arrival of Thatcher and rate capping, the building appearance quickly deteriorated.

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A group of residents carried out a petition to return the estate to its former glory. The campaign was successful, making Alexandra Road the youngest and largest building to be listed (Grade II listed), and also the first modern building to do so.

The estate has grown to be regarded as an example of important social housing in Europe. It has been displayed in international exhibits, studied in universities and used in many ways in the media, becoming an important part of the national heritage.

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[09] Lillington Gardens

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Construction:

1961-1980

Architects:

John Darbourne + Geoffery Darke

Location:

Westminster, London

Size:

4 hectares

Total number of dwellings:

777

Density:

194 homes per hectare

Lillington Gardens housing scheme was the subject of an open architectural competition in 1961. The winners set a new standard in the style and planning of housing schemes, combining high density with a medium rise structure.

The estate was built retaining the church of St James the Less, which influenced the design and materials of the estate. It is generally known for its complex form, generous green spaces, community-focused design and distinctive use of reinforced concrete and red-brown brick.

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Aesthetically, one of the major aspects is the staggered treatment of the elevations, which varies around the estate in order to respect the terraces of the surrounding buildings. This play with height and depth of the blocks added to the informal character of the layout.

Even though there was an unfortunate lack of similarity between the planning, the general environment and the architectural concept, the overall solution to a very high density housing problem was considered successful.

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[10] Odhams Walk

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Construction:

1981

Architects:

Greater London Council

Location:

Covent Garden, London

Size:

0.6 hectares

Total number of dwellings:

102

Density:

170 homes per hectare

After Covent Garden was proposed for extensive clearance in 1968, this plan proposed rebuilding the area with megastructures. This generated controversy over its proposed displacement of working class uses and housing. As one of the workers wrote: “The main attraction in Covent Garden is the people ‌ The market workers and the working class tenants. Remove these and what have you got? Any other characterless area.â€?

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The residents demanded, and received, substantial input in the Odham’s Walk design process. The focus point was the community and residents created their own on-site management system. The result was a project that reviewer Kenneth Campbell called “the most ingenious and satisfactory answer… an urban village in an area where community feeling is the most strong and at the same time most threatened”.

Based on the satisfaction of those living in Odhams Walk and the huge increase in the property values over the years, we can conclude that this was not only a successful project, but it can still meet the expectation of the dwellers.

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[11] Byker

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Construction:

1969-1982

Architects:

Raplh Erskine

Location:

Newcastle

Size:

80 hectares

Total number of dwellings:

circa 2000

Density:

25 homes per hectare

Byker Estate replaced nearly 1200 Victorian terraced houses that were deemed unfit for human inhabitation in 1953. The scheme would see the original residents moved to the new estate in order to keep the original community.

Erskine wanted resident involvement in his project, so much so that he turned an old funeral parlour in Byker into an architects’ office. Janett Square was built as a pilot scheme in which residents would give feedback on the design. The estate was then built to incorporate some of the environmental technologies that are only nowadays becoming mainstream.

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The high design specifications of the buildings made it very expensive to refurbish. The estate was particularly badly affected by the economic decline of the late 20th century. It did not receive the level of service delivery from public agencies that it required, while the original community left.

This led to higher house prices, increased crime rates and a weaker bond between residents.

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[12] Accordia

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Construction:

2008

Architects:

Fielden Clegg Bradley

Location:

Cambridge

Size:

9 hectares

Total number of dwellings:

378 dwellings

Density:

42 homes per hectare

The initial aim for the Accordia project was to create a housing scheme that worked closely with the environment, promoting a sustainable future and way of living. The geographical context was also taken heavily into account; much of the materiality of the site resembles the surrounding area (e.g. the use of yellow brick).

The site was once part of a large garden for a country house. New houses were positioned surrounding the central garden and courtyards; the spaces could then be used for recreational activities, able to promote a neighbourhood atmosphere between the housing divisions

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The houses themselves bring novelty in their appearance. Due to the way they are built upwards rather than outwards, they conserve much of the ground space, limiting the destruction of the natural ground that previously existed. The houses range from 2 to 4 storeys, they feature indoor gardens, car parking and use rooftops as outdoor spaces.

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[13] Harper Square

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Construction:

2013

Architects:

de Rijke, Marsh + Morgan [dRMM]

Location:

London

Size:

0.6 hectare

Total number of dwellings:

591

Density:

985 homes per hectare

Harper Square development in the Southwark district of London was commissioned by Family Mosaic, a housing group selling shared ownership housing, and designed by dRMM architects. It is a scheme of three apartment blocks with a landscaped square in the middle, creating a common space for people of different ages and a variety of activities.

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The design was carefully considered in order to cater for all social groups, providing better and more affordable social housing in the area. Other important factors were the integration of the residents into the community and safety related improvements.

Harper Square is linked with Symington House, an existing apartment block, and was designed for residents to merge between the two dwellings. This plan was developed through the creation of a shared recreational area.

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STUDENTS

2013//2014

Taylor BEECH Adam CLARKE Ben JAMES

Jeyani JAMES Naheeda RAHMAN Rachelle SALAZAR

Tamanna AKHTER Ellen DAVIES Michalis KOUNOUNIS

Callum CAMPBELL Saffa DEGHANI Stanley FU

Jatinder SAGOO Asose SALIH Obinna SPRINGER-WILLIAMS

Gaurav JANEY Glen MOELO Jagdeep SEHMAR

Adriana-Elena CHIRITA Dagmar HEIMAN Laura-Elena NICULA

Vitalijus DUK Aron MATEFI-TAKACS Corina OANCEA

Joseph BOWMAN Fran CHAPPELOW Lucy DUNN

Lewis BUCKLEY Matt EVANS Kimran FAROOQ

Joshua BOARDMAN Adriana CHESARU Jac DOODY

Jack BERRETT Jack BOWDEN Jรถrn WAGNER Bonnie CARSWELL Mariam MANN Anila SAFEER

IMAGE CREDITS [00] Cover

AGF81

http://agf81.deviantart.com/art/Concrete-Texture-14-204951168 [edited]

[01] Steve Cadman

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecadman/2221050495/in/set-72157603801995531 [edited]

[02] Jamie Barras

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddtmmm/2246116643/

[03]

http://landobreaks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/the-towers-of-hackney.html

[04] Iqbal Aalam [scanned] http://www.flickr.com/photos/iqbalaalam/2402141249/

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[05] PRP Architects

http://www.prparchitects.co.uk/50/timeline/1963-1972/the-ryde-hatfield.html

[06] London Arc Blog

http://www.londonarchitectureblog.com/2013/08/week-29-13-feature-22-robin-hood-gardens.html

[07] Rachelle Salazar

Student contribution

[08] R P Marks

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/rpmarks/6654705299/

[09] Richard Roberts

http://www.piano-tuning.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/wpid-20120904_1031561.jpg

[10] James Boardwell

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashed_potatoe/144759877/

[11]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/byker-wall-residents-celebrate-transfer-1368008

[12] Jordan Egglestone

http://jegglestone.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/8163421154_5503a7c22d_o.jpg

[13]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/8450527245/

Birmingham Institue of Art and Design http://www.bcu.ac.uk/biad/architecture