Introduction

Figure 1: Somerford Grove Source: Authors Own

There has long been an antipathy by the UK public towards the countries many postwar modernist estates, rooted in an assumption that their design is directly detrimental to residents psychological health.1 Probably best depicted in Stanley Kubrick's film Clockwork Orange, a vision of bleak, savage urban dystopia played out against the backdrop of the Thamesmead estate in south-east London.2 Recent studies by neuroscientists and psychologists have found evidence to support this notion. Finding the level of complexity and variety in a building facade correlated to peoples mood, with simple and monotonous façades (like those at Thamesmead or the majority of modernist estate) having a negative impact.3

It wasn't only in hindsight that these criticisms were levelled, many architects wrote on the matter as new estates were being devised and built, one such architect was Sir Fredrick Gibbered. Although not using the language of mental health Gibbered was concerned that large housing schemes built to the new international style could produce a "dull and inhuman environment to live in."4 He pioneered a new approach that was seen to 'humanise' architecture, softening it by incorporating ideas on aesthetics taken from the analysis of historic towns and villages in England.

This approach is exemplified in his design of the Somerford Grove Housing estate in Hackney. The essay will look at it as a case study focusing specifically on Gibberd's design of the space between the housing, as it was in these interstitial space that his ideas were most expressed. After providing some historical context the essay examines Somerford Groves interstitial space at all scale from the urban grain down to his choice in materiality. I will aim to explore what set Gibberd's approach apart from the prevailing modernist ideology, aiming to draw lessons that could be applied to help humanise the design of new housing developments.