Whenever post-war buildings are listed there is usually an abundance of debate questioning the various pros and cons of these edifices to an age of optimism. There seems to be equal weight to the arguments for and against ‘saving’ these structures, some of which it must be said retaining aesthetic qualities not appreciated by all. But the announcement on 10 June 2011 that the Hallfield Estate in Paddington by Denys Lasdun and Lindsay Drake had been granted Grade II listed status by the Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose may not elicit as much heated discussion as, say, Keeling House in Bethnal Green which was almost contemporary and by the same architect. This is because the aesthetics at Hallfield, built between 1949 and 1955, are very much part of the lingering International Style of Modernism that pervaded the years immediately following the War and before the thrusting and uncompromising ‘Brutalist’ epoch had taken a grip of the industry.
In 1947 the Tecton firm was commissioned by the borough of Paddington to develop a site at Bishop’s Bridge Road. Tecton had been founded by inter-war emigre Berthold Lubetkin who had wowed and dismayed the residents of Hampstead in equal measure during the 1930s with his Highpoint flats on North Hill. The project architects at Paddington were Denys Lasdun and Lindsay Drake who, after Tecton dissolved in November 1948, saw the scheme through to completion in 1955.
The brief was to provide housing for workers in light industry and to incorporate amenities such as shops, garages, laundry, schools and recreation. The borough was undergoing redevelopment as part of the London plan, moving residents from what were regarded as obsolete housing that had been earmarked for demolition since before the war. The plan was also designed to address the population explosion in the area. The March 1955 Architects Journal article on the scheme cited a rise from 2,000 people in the 19th century to over 138,000 then and so the need for good high density accommodation was acute. The aim was to house 200 people per acre and Lasdun and Drake’s completed estate managed to get comfortably close to this at 176.
The design was celebrated in its day, worked successfully as an almost complete community project and remains a well maintained and on the whole highly regarded by its current residents. The fact that little has changed on the estate in the last fifty years and there seems now to be only negligible signs of age bares testament to the quality of the architecture, the layout, the provision of services and amenities and the attention to detail, all of which became Lasdun trademarks. Following recommendations from English Heritage the estate now has Grade II status and will remain a key London landmark as well as evidence to the potential success in well designed mass housing schemes.
In 1947 the Tecton firm was commissioned by the borough of Paddington to develop a site at Bishop’s Bridge Road. Tecton had been founded by inter-war emigre Berthold Lubetkin who had wowed and dismayed the residents of Hampstead in equal measure during the 1930s with his Highpoint flats on North Hill. The project architects at Paddington were Denys Lasdun and Lindsay Drake who, after Tecton dissolved in November 1948, saw the scheme through to completion in 1955.
The brief was to provide housing for workers in light industry and to incorporate amenities such as shops, garages, laundry, schools and recreation. The borough was undergoing redevelopment as part of the London plan, moving residents from what were regarded as obsolete housing that had been earmarked for demolition since before the war. The plan was also designed to address the population explosion in the area. The March 1955 Architects Journal article on the scheme cited a rise from 2,000 people in the 19th century to over 138,000 then and so the need for good high density accommodation was acute. The aim was to house 200 people per acre and Lasdun and Drake’s completed estate managed to get comfortably close to this at 176.
The design was celebrated in its day, worked successfully as an almost complete community project and remains a well maintained and on the whole highly regarded by its current residents. The fact that little has changed on the estate in the last fifty years and there seems now to be only negligible signs of age bares testament to the quality of the architecture, the layout, the provision of services and amenities and the attention to detail, all of which became Lasdun trademarks. Following recommendations from English Heritage the estate now has Grade II status and will remain a key London landmark as well as evidence to the potential success in well designed mass housing schemes.
A more detailed account of the Hallfield estate, its design and construction can be found in my book, along with many other works by Denys Lasdun, which is available from the publishers The Crowood Press (www.crowoodpress.co.uk).
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