Thamesmead South
August 18th, 2011
On a grey and overcast day coming on to rain I viewed the béton brut of Thamesmead and perhaps these were the ideal conditions to view a form of construction that has fallen from favour in housing.
Photo set on Flickr of Thamesmead South
https://www.flickr.com/photos/singleaspect/sets/72157627544886106/
A film about the development from 1970 Thamesmead and Plumstead Marshes on film
Thamesmead
August 18th, 2011
Train to Abbey Wood and bus to Thamesmead Centre, which is not incidentally in the centre at all but close to the river, on the NW of the site. After leaving Abbey Wood station the bus (B11) wove through the oldest béton brut part of the site passing all those concrete blocks, walkways and towers for which the estate is infamous.
Tanner Street Barking – Peter Barber
August 17th, 2011
More cogwheel toothed grey rendered pseudo Mediterranean terraced housing by Barber. Like Donnybrook it also has next to no defensible space for the most part. 
Barking Reach & Rivergate Centre
August 17th, 2011
UPDATE: 17th August 2015 – Guardian -> No change then
Some respectable architecture aside, it is a shaming place.
Following the arrival of my London Open House brochure I sauntered off to Barking along the District line to Barking station and took the 387 out to Barking Riverside. (Actually I decided to walk and got lost but that’s another story). If you know what you’re doing you can walk out of Barking Station, cross the road to stand H and get on the 387, Oyster card in hand.
Click image for full bus map
Spa Green Estate – Tecton 1943-50
August 16th, 2011
As part of a Lubetkin visit to the capital I went to see the Spa Green Estate. It wasn’t hard to find, in fact I walked past it on my way from the Angel tube station to Rosebury Hall where I was staying one Sunday evening. It sits on Rosebury Avenue opposite the rebuilt Sadler’s Wells theatre in a park setting.
More photos at my Flickr page here:-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/singleaspect/sets/72157627535915878/
More photos from Modern Architecture here:-
Finsbury Health Centre – Lubetkin 1938
August 16th, 2011
UPDATE: 28th November 2014 Tonight at the Royal Geological Society John Allan gave a superb address in support of FHC and won the vote for best C20th Society building on their 100 buildings list. Tweet.
The Borough of Finsbury is notable for having a number of buildings by the same architectural practice, in this case Tecton a spin off from the MARS group of architects (Modern Architecture Research Group) formed in the 1930s by a group of forward looking Modernist architects seeking to make their mark.
Alton West Roehampton
August 16th, 2011
A few photographs taken on a flying visit. This estate is covered comprehensively in City of Towers, High Rise Dreams, Homes for Heroes and Utopia London.
Arch Street Elephant & Castle
August 16th, 2011
While trawling London’s housing estates for raw concrete on behalf of my Sheffield friend I stopped at what’s left of the Heygate and on the way from the Elephant & Castle tube spotted this . . .
. . . and was reminded of that memorable phrase “a malformed zebra that has been rolling around in poo.” taken from an article in Building Design magazine that reviewed the development.
Heygate Estate – Elephant & Castle
August 16th, 2011
Thought for the day – Regeneration is social cleansing
In my continuing quest for béton brut (raw concrete) I wandered along to what’s left of the Heygate to snatch a few shots.
Wooden cobbles
August 16th, 2011
“The streets of London were once paved with end grain cobbles and end grain flooring has been used widely in engineering and other industries because of its durability,”
Next to Braithwaite House are wooden cobbles, blocks of wood on end, as seen in butchers’ blocks, a small square of them within a cobbled lane to the left of Braithwaite House in Bunhill Row in the City of London. Fascinating.
UPDATE: – 30/3/12 – I’ve found some more. Walking up Pentonville Road towards the Angel, on the left just after the junction with Penton Street I walked behind a car waiting to pull out from the layby outside 98-100 Pentonville Road and there beneath gaps in the tarmac, are wooden cobbles. If I’ve got the address wrong then they are not far from there, check the adjacent lay bys outside buildings there in case I’ve got the number wrong.
I found several bare patches, and touched them to be sure. I’m surprised the tarmac sticks to them at all to be frank and it would be much nicer if it were to be removed and the ends varnished, what a lovely sight that would be.