Ossulston Estate, Viennese flair in Somers Town

Most planned estates from the 1920s do not include amenities. Ossulston Estate is the exception to the rule with a tavern included in the scheme in reflection of similar continental schemes. These especial functions are included in the lowest sections of the Super Blocks and always frame an entrance to an inner courtyard.

The white render on the facades is reminiscent of the Carl Seitz Hof and modernist architecture. Here structured render is applied to enliven the visual perception of the block. In the axis of the north court a large gate gives access to the street beyond. The facade is also symmetrical. The new planting is rather sparse compared to Viennese examples.

The largest part of the estate is composed of 6 storey blocks of flats that link together around courtyards. The balconies look out over the adjoining courtyard, that in this case is completely paved. The horizontal lines of the architecture reduce the visual height of the buildings.

Large gates give access to the complex. Each perforation of the block is emphasised in the architecture and placed in a central axial position within the spatial composition and facade. The facades have a ground floor in natural stone thus breaking the visual height of the building. The facade is composed of repeated symmetrical groupings of elements (i.e. windows, balconies and chimneys).

The same compositional devices are employed on the facades facing inner courtyards. The whole complex is very reminiscent of the Carl Seitz Hof (formerly known as Garden City Floridsdorf).

The windows have a rectangular shape with a strong vertical aspect, but they are arranged in horizontal ribbons on the facade. Widow bays break the surface of the facade and segment the facade. The shops that were part of the original scheme still function. Again this special function sits besides an entrance to an inner courtyard.

By playing with the height of the various sections of the Super Block, Topham Forrest creates visual interest and reduces the visual impact of what would otherwise have been a massive structure. It also provides him with opportunities to emphasize certain parts of the building and thus exaggerate the gateways to the inner courtyards.

Ossulston Estate, a rare example of pioneering architecture in Camden

As the endless repetition of semidetached housing in various vernacular styles or pastiche architecture along similar after similar street in suburban London clearly shows, the basically conservative nature of middle-class Brits has left little room for experiment or anything more than conscious variation on a well-defined theme. The English disdain for multi-storey living has been well-documented. This is in part the reason for continental European ideas not being taking up in Britain prior to the 1950s. So any complex inspired by Viennese examples of compact modernist social housing generated much excitement and it still does!

Somers Town was developed in the 19th century from market gardens into a northern extension of the sprawling London Metropolis by the owner of the landholding Charles Cocks, Baron Somers of Evesham. The private developers chose a grid layout of long streets. Somers Town was , however, to change forever with the arrival of the railways as it became sandwiched between Euston Station (1838) in the west and St Pancras Station (1868) and King's Cross Station (1852) in the east. St Pancras Old Church still stands in isolation along the train tracks behind the eponymous station buildings.

The massive wave of building after WW1 took place mostly along the lines of garden suburb developments. The so-called cottage estates planned and designed by the London County Council are an example of this. In Britain even the Labour Movement believed that the working classed were best served with houses with gardens. This is in sharp contrast to the forward-thinking ideals of continental socialists who advocated modern and airy living with shared facilities and communal gardens. Thus in countries like Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Finland cost effective ways of providing low-rent accommodation were found in building small en large housing complexes with communal amenities, especially after 1918. There are however some experiments towards modern living for the masses from about 1900.

How bold a step was it therefore when George Topham Forrest was asked to design a new housing estate for the displaced residents of the former inner-city slums that were cleared by the LCC, that he would propose a multi-storey mixed-use redevelopment of the 2.2 hectare site in Somers Town. The architect concluded that the small site required building upwards of the usual 5 storeys. In his initial plans (1925) he envisaged a functional plinth with ground-floor shops and first-floor offices with 2 floors of spacious middle-class apartments above that and another 7 floors of smaller labourers apartments above them.  He had no socialist ideals on mixing social classes with his scheme, but looked at the site with great practicality. His proposals were turned down by the LCC, as they would require the incorporation of lifts.

After a visit to Vienna, Topham Forrest amended his plans. In 1927 he presented his new designs for the Ossulston Estate clearly inspired by Viennese examples such as the Carl Seitz Hof and the Karl Marx Hof. His crucial modification was to create a staggered roofline by alternating sections of 3 storeys with sections of 6 storeys and towers of 9 storeys. The way he included shops on one side always near the entrances to the inner court yards reflects the Carl Seitz Hof (or Garden City Floridsdorf as it was known then). By snaking the apartments in between communal courtyard he gave the residents the greatest possible supply of air and light. Each apartment also had a small balcony overlooking one of the courtyards. In German, Dutch and Austrian examples of such Super Blocks the courtyards are laid to grass or planted with flowers and trees. The Ossulston estate would provide accommodation for some 3050 people in 492 flats.

The Super Block Estate sits between Euston Station (1) and The British Library (5) in Somers Town that was changed beyond recognition by the railways, as this picture makes clear. The old roads have been projected over the large current station buildings of St Pancras (2), King's Cross (3), St Pancras International (6) and the King's Cross expansion (7). The Town Hall of Camden (4) was built opposite Euston Square, once a lovely garden square.The Ossulston Estate (A) follows the direction of the old grid. St Pancras Old Church (B) stand at some distance along the now covered Fleet river (C). The Octagon (D) and part of St James Graveyard (now St James' Gardens -E) have also disappeared.

The estate has been extensively restored with some greenery added to the barren paved courtyards. This, however, should ideally be expanded to better the visual appeal and increase the well-being of residents. The complex remains a rare example of a multi-storey residential development from the 1920s in an expressive modern style of architecture.

Petts Wood, a springtime flower carpet

Petts Wood, between Orpington and Chislehurst, takes its name from the Pett family. These well-known shipbuilders leased the woodland for its timber. The first time the name is mentioned as Petts Wood is 1577. Most of the woodland was cut down and developed, first for agriculture and in the 1920s for housing. The suburb of Petts Wood is situated next to what remains of this ancient woodland. Public donations raised the money to buy the remaining 36 hectares of woodland in 1927 and donate it to the National Trust, who still manage it. In 1957 it was expanded with the addition of neighbouring Hawkwood Estate and Edlmann Wood (together 100 hectares). The woodland is dominated by oak with birch, rowan, alder, ash, hornbeam and sweet chestnut growing amongst them.

Petts Wood is known as a so-called bluebell wood. These are ancient woodlands with a strong spring aspect when, as the leaves of the trees are emerging, the woodland floor bursts into flower. This springtime vegetation is dominated by cryptophytes like wood anemone (Anemone nemerosa), lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) and bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). Along streams and on the woodland edge other plants that don't disappear after flowering can be found.

The common bluebell carpets the woodland floor in parts of Petts Wood. Bluebells dominate like this in places where there is thick summer canopy that suppresses perennial groundcover underneath the trees.

The wood anemone (left) also grows in places with a dense summer canopy, but prefers to grow underneath trees that create more dappled shade like ash and rowan. The spotted leaves of Arum maculatum appear in early spring to make the most of the light. The flower is a purple spadix that is partially enclosed by a leaf-like spathe. The wood anemone also comes in a pink form (shown on the right).

Lesser celandine reproduced with small bulbils and is only above ground during the spring months. The sweet violet (Viola odorata) grows in semi shady places along streams and paths. The bloom had no discernible smell so perhaps it is a wood violet (Viola riviniana) or a hybrid. The cowslip (Primula veris) flowers in moist soil in grassy clearings or along streams.

Kingswood Estate in Dulwich, a pleasant LCC development

Once the steep slope separating the housing estate from the railway station has been conquered al large open space introduces the Kingswood Estate with wide green verges and large trees. This part of the development forms a "vestibule" for the rest of the estate and is terminated by a large block of flats (known as Dowell House) with an opening serving as a "gate".

About half of the housing on the Kingswood Estate was built in yellow brick. This choice of material, combined with the stylised structural ornamentation and angular shapes places the architecture firmly within the continental style of brick modernism,. This style was very popular in the 1920s and '30s for public housing. A well known representative of this style was the Dutch architect Dudok, who also designed along the lines of New Objectivity. The flats are accessed via an external walkway or gallery with brick-built sides (shown on the right).

There is ample distance between the middle-rise flats thus allowing vistas, large trees and space to permeate the development. In this Kingswood sets itself apart from other developments designed by the London County Council Housing and Valuation Department that are often cramped and give an over-developed feel.

The highly decorative facades of Kingswood House (shown left) contrast heavily with the rendered terraces of cottages painted ochre. All other housing has been built in brick, with either a sandy yellow facade or one in an earthy red.

Kingswood House, Mr Bovril's re-imagination of a Scottish castle, still stands proudly at the heart of the estate, now surrounded by block of flats rather than a verdant park. It is still in use as a community centre and public library.

The placement of the large blocks is such that long vistas across the green setting of the dwellings remains possible. The old trees that were carefully integrated in the layout add to this spacious feel of the place. Here we see the two colours of brick along the line of site across the estate.

The gate motif returns, here in Beresford House, part of the estate located between the railway line and the primary school. The buildings in this section have hipped roofs or pointed gable ends and are less angular. The Curve of the gate a case is a good example of this. Also the galleries end in curved sections.

As in the yellow brick buildings, the ones in brownish red brick have special emphasis places on the entrances (left) through elegantly designed stairwells that protrude and give the horizontal facade a distinct vertical line. Each block of flats has a name, as if it is a mansion block. The names have been derived from the names of the committee members involved in developing the site for housing.

Although parking facilities are encroaching on the green open spaces, the estate still provides short and long lines of sight across the built-up area. This gives a sense of space and created a feeling of place as one can always places one's own position within the housing estate.