Bevin Court
August 16th, 2011
As part of a Lubetkin visit to the capital I went to see Bevin Court. It is an unusual and intriguing building tucked away and despite its size surprisingly well hidden.
Pepys Estate Deptford – 1979, 2004 & 2009
August 15th, 2011
“High living in a council owned tower block is stigmatised, living in a privately rented or owned tower block is the ultimate in urban chic” – The Gentrification Reader
I lived at 93 Aragon Tower on the Pepys Estate Deptford between October 1978 and September 1980, in a scissor maisonette. It was the highlight of my life so far at that point because I had spent the previous few years living in a succession of seedy bedsits, shared houses and other people’s flats. One bright and sunny weekday morning I parked my employer’s pink and purple Austin J4 on the bridge that runs over the (former) Surrey Canal in Oxestalls Road and went into the housing office at the foot of Eddystone Tower for the keys to a hard to let flat in Aragon Tower.
10/1978-9/1980
Utopia London – Tom Cordell
August 13th, 2011
Composite image of architects featured in the film
“There was a time when London united around the vision of a better future. A group of young idealists were fusing science and art to build an egalitarian city. This documentary is their story.”
So runs the tag line from the trailer page of the website and this motivation comes across from the film as a whole.
Tower blocks and the density myth
August 8th, 2011
Over the years I have heard, and read, many different points of view put forward as to whether tower blocks were a good idea in terms of housing large numbers of people, owing to the space required between them to prevent overshadowing.
Red Road flats Glasgow
London Modernist Estates
August 7th, 2011
These are just a few well known but random examples. There are many more scattered across the UK so if you’re planning a tour by all means include these but please don’t think that this list is exhaustive, far from it, these are but a few and Heygate, Ferrier and Aylesbury are fast disappearing from view thanks to regeneration.
Sheffield – All in a day – The City – BBC 1973
July 30th, 2011
This 45 minute documentary was shot in one day on Wednesday 5th September 1973, using several film crews each with a different assignment. One to follow a man retiring on his 65th birthday, the hospital, the Police service, a funeral,
Hyde Park flats
Park Hill – Urban Splash II
July 25th, 2011
UPDATE: 5/3/14 Park Hill today Utopian estate left to die
Last October 20th I attended a sales talk and presentation by Urban Splash masquerading as an architectural tour. On the walk that followed I met a fellow blogger, was shown round Park Hill in record time, took a lot of pictures and wrote about what I’d seen.
Park Hill – Inside Out
July 25th, 2011
Thanks to a member of Sheffield City Council myself and a friend were allowed access to 187 Norwich Row to see what living conditions are like there.
Click image for panorama from kitchen balcony
Read the rest of this entry »
Sheffield: Gleadless Valley Panorama
July 25th, 2011
This will become an article at some point but just for now enjoy the pictures. Two large panoramas of Gleadless Valley and its housing. The same series of photographs but saved at different resolutions.
Panoramic 11764 x 1330 pixels 2.21Mb in size >click here<
Panoramic 23528 x 2660 pixels 7.75Mb in size >click here<
My Gleadless Valley photos on Flickr:- Gleadless Valley photos here
https://www.welivehere.co.uk/valley_brit_print.html
Taylor Wimpey example of kitchen design
July 25th, 2011
I had to laugh. That’s what somebody typed into Google (in the title) before reaching my page on crap flats. I had no idea they were designed I thought they were the space left over when the requisite number of en-suite bedrooms and toilets had been put in along with the composite living/dining area. I cannot seriously imagine design ever coming into it.
Look through this blog and all the TW kitchens you’ll see here will be units stuck along a wall or around a corner or as an afterthought (mostly) without windows to look out of.
Thank you 109.149.4.xx for making my day.
Taylor Wimpey aren’t the only ones. Read my post on Kidbrooke Village – Phase One or Pepys Estate and what you find is that Berkeley Homes also regard it as acceptable not to include a separate kitchen in either their new developments or their redevelopments. They are not even pretending to approach open plan, they are just dumping a line of units along the wall in a room as an apology for a kitchen.