Pullman Court Streatham
September 19th, 2011
Sunday afternoon, the 159 from Brixton tube station and a 15 minute bus ride takes you to the bus garage beside which stands Pullman Court.
A large white rendered 1936 block of flats by Frederick Gibberd, of sufficient note to be included in Modern: The Modern Movement in Britain by Alan Powers.
Striking in appearance and forward thinking in design it stands today as a lesson in good design that some C21st architects could do with (see Fabrik Coldharbour Lane)
First impressions. An attractive 1930s white painted block in two asymmetrical halves, separated by a road adjoined by plants and bushes. The site backs on to a covered reservoir, a single block spanning the width of the site at this point with an archway providing covered entrances for the two sides.
The flat I visited (166) is reached from a spacious and elegant foyer with a now redundant office presumably once that of the caretaker and concierge. Both stair and lift access takes you up to 166 to a large landing and corridor leading to several flats.
Upon entering the flat I reached up to ascertain the ceiling height which I would put at just under 8′ or about 2.4m Large hall. Ridiculously large hall I have to say by modern standards, this is my only criticism of the flat layout. Given how tiny the kitchen and bathroom are it would have been a good idea to allocate some of the generous hall space to the utilities.
Living room straight ahead, second bedroom off to one side, both large enough for the job and well lit. Lovely large windows, oh for those in modern developments, so often missing. Charming period detail in the electric fire, radio and clock built into a wooden cabinet on one wall. The owner told us that the radio itself and clock had gone by the time she moved in but there were the cutouts still visible.
A modest balcony overlooks the swimming pool, no longer in use but I gather to be preserved by filling it with large polystyrene blocks and putting a garden over the top so that in future years others may return to the original.
More photos at Flickr Pullman Court
Would I live there? Not sure. Built for a different age I’m afraid. Classy certainly, I can see that hallway lined with bookcases and display cabinets. Personally I would hanker after a larger kitchen certainly and bathroom perhaps. But at Grade II listed star those wishes would have to remain unfulfilled.
In short, a classy elegant flat in a 1930s development, a wonderful lesson from the past, albeit built for a different age but beguiling none the less and my deepest thanks to the owner for giving up her day and opening her flat so that people like me might have the chance to see such a notable building. Many thanks.
More photos from Modern Architecture here:-
https://modernarchitecturelondon.com/pages/pullman-court.php
Visit the residents’ blog:- Pullman Court Blog
Single Aspect says:November 3, 2012 at 6:34 pmThank you for using one of my photographs at the top of this blog. It’s nice to know my blog is read.
https://www.singleaspect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Img_5251.jpg
A credit would be nice
Reply
no problem, it’s due