Modernist Estates: The buildings and the people who live in them

Product Information

This geographical spread and chronology is interesting as it reminds us that Modernism in these terms is much more than a stylistic label. Although the examples selected include Le Corbusier’s Unite in Marseilles and works by Arne Jacobsen, there are also projects by Aldo Rossi and Ricardo Bofill, architects who defy easy categorisation as orthodox modernists. A unique studio apartment on the ground floor of a new building in Forest Gate, designed by Marcus Lee, formerly a director at the Richard Rogers Partnership. The accommodation benefits from its own private entrance and comprises a spacious open-plan room with a fitted plywood kitchen, a sleeping area, and a large en-suite bathroom with a walk-in shower. Polished concrete floors with underfloor heating run throughout. The online platform, Modernist Estates, has for several years been an essential go-to source for those interested in the many excellent and often under-appreciated housing estates produced by 20th century architects, many on behalf of local authorities. Having previously published a review of UK examples, mostly around London, Stefi Orazi has now taken the format across Europe to 15 estates from Scandinavia to Spain, and covering a period from the early 1930s right up to the completion of Neave Brown’s Medina project in Eindhoven in 2002. However, in a pointed introduction, the author makes it clear that the European approach transcended geographical boundaries as evidenced by the inclusion of high quality estates in both Birmingham and Edinburgh. The trip was supported by the German tourist board. See bauhaus100.de for more information. Original Bauhaus: the Centenary Exhibition runs from 6 Sept to 27 Jan 2020 at the Berlinische Galerie in Kreuzberg. Direct Deutsche Bahn trains run Berlin Hbf-Dessau (from €19.90); Weimar-Berlin usually involves a change at Erfurt (from €29.90 bahn.com); Dessau-Weimar may involve 2-3 changes (from €19.90) Beyond Bauhau: more modernist classics in Germany One of the deciding factors when choosing this particular flat was we have the only intact original bathroom in the building – both tiles and appliances are from 1937 – and we live in one of the turrets, with a semi-circular living room. Like all flats in the building, we still have the original Crittall windows. The previous owner had added internal secondary glazing with plastic frames but we removed those.

Modernist Estates

Why focus on the older generation living there? "I have always been inspired by seniors and I had this deep feeling to put them at the front stage. I wished to communicate with them, know their life and try to deconstruct this sometimes depreciating image of the old age which arises from our society. I then said to myself that there was a subject to explore both on the passing of the generations as well as on the impact of time on the architecture and the lives which it tries to harmonise."The couple moved here in the autumn of 2015, shortly after the birth of their second child, leaving behind their two-bedroom flat with cantilevered stairs on the Golden Lane estate in London. “It was tiny,” says Bella. “Our living space was the size of what is now our playroom. And that was fine when we had one child. But then we were hankering after more space, and this place came up …” Bella had long been on the Modern House mailing list. “I’ve always been slightly obsessed with modernist architecture,” she explains. When she first spotted the listing, it was at an emotionally charged time – shortly after the death of her mother, when Bella was four months pregnant. With its striking stepped-concrete terraces, the Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate is the most famous of the social housing schemes built during Camden’s “golden age” in the 1960s and 1970s. Rowley Way was built between 1972-78 by the revered Modernist architect Neave Brown and has been given a rate Grade II* listing by English Heritage in recognition of its architectural significance. We had lived in the better-known Isokon building for six years and dreamt of living in Berthold Lubetkin’s Highpoint in Highgate but couldn’t afford it, so it had to be a 1930s building of architectural merit. Whitehall Lodge has plenty of original features, and also a generous landscaped garden. Muswell Hill is a very nice part of north London, a real village with lots of small shops and cafés.

Modernist Estates: The buildings and the people who live in them Modernist Estates: The buildings and the people who live in them

But I would certainly recommend a Bauhaus-themed tour of Germany this year. In Thuringia, the towns of Erfurt, Gera and Jena all have architectural landmarks. Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Magdeburg, Münster and other cities have houses, factories, dams, foundries and garages built by Bauhaus-influenced modernists (see grandtourofmodernism.com for an interactive map). Güldner tells me: “There was no need for embellishment or overcrowding. Buildings could be newer and better, without copying anything that had already been. Beauty was born out of finding a solution to the question: what is useful?”This book would certainly be of interest to architecture buffs, as well as people interested in engineering, urban planning, and postwar English history, but I think almost anyone could appreciate the gorgeous pictures and unique look at a distinct time in modern history. Sprowston Mews is located five minutes walk from Forest Gate train station, and is home to an emerging creative community of architects and self-builders, inspired by the experimental mews house-building of the 1960s, such as Murray Mews in Camden. Forest Gate is named after the southern gate to Epping Forest, one of the largest expanses of common land in London. Wanstead Flats, with its 450 acres of heathland, are within a fifteen minutes’ walk. It is incredibly well connected with frequent trains to Liverpool Street via Elizabeth line taking just 13 minutes. Wanstead Park and Woodgrange Park are on the Overground with trains to Gospel Oak and Barking. As the 1920s wore on, Weimar became increasingly conservative and, in 1925, Gropius moved Bauhaus 130km north-east to Dessau. Home to the Junker aeroplane factory, this city had a strong tradition of industrial design and it was here the movement reached its apogee. A short walk from Dessau’s main station is the movement’s radical-looking glass-fronted HQ, the Bauhaus Building. Commissioned by the city, it was designed by Gropius and built in 1925-26 to house the various departments of a school that taught everything from furniture design to architecture to typography. Sprowston Mews is located five minutes walk from Forest Gate train station, and is home to an emerging creative community of architects and self-builders, inspired by the experimental mews house-building of the 1960s, such as Murray Mews in Camden.

Modern House | Selling the UK’s most inspiring living spaces The Modern House | Selling the UK’s most inspiring living spaces

Modernist Estates” is an attractive, sumptuous book reflecting the modern taste for modernist/brutalist architecture. It covers works by Goldfinger, SPAN, etc with brief architectural scene-setting for each development, interviews with the householder(s) and a series of interior shots. A few years later, when they were both journalists writing about architecture and design, Hill had what he describes as a “lightbulb moment” – realising he could apply the same approach he had taken to selling collectable trainers and furniture to selling collectable houses. “And I didn’t need to put them in my dad’s garage.” I knew a little bit about the building before I moved here. The scheme was part of Camden’s ‘golden era’ of housing along with estates such as the Highgate New Town in Archway by Peter Tabori, and Alexandra Road in Swiss Cottage by Neave Brown. These young and progressive architects rejected the trend for high-rise developments that had been popular after the war in favour of good quality, well-planned, low-rise buildings. Photographs of buildings - 2 stars - pretty tedious really. Where original features are shown they are interesting, but in general you get not-especially-good photographs of living spaces which, on the whole, have a pretty uniform taste in decoration.Gorgeous and absolutely fascinating! This is a thorough and affectionate exploration of almost two dozen Modernist public housing complexes in England. Most were built during the postwar era, though the overall range spans from the 30s to the 90s. It brought to mind some of the later seasons of Call the Midwife, which often dealt with London's housing crisis. Several characters moved into flats like these and it was interesting to get a real-life look at the types of places they lived. The lower end of the market always sells so well,” says Hill. “One of the founding principles was: it’s not about price, it really is about design, and we’ve always tried to keep as broad a price spectrum as we can.” A walking tour around Regent’s Park Estate to discuss the masterplan and designs of the new infill housing on the estate. The walk is led by architects Hilary Satchwell (Tibbalds), Alex Ely (Mae) and Matthew Lloyd (Matthew Lloyd Architects).

Modernist Property for Sale | The Modern House

What sparked the interest for Laurent? "I was influenced by my experience in China where I lived for six months in 2008, where I also discovered photography" he tells Creative Boom. "The big cities of this territory stunned me by their gigantic size, their tentacular immoderation, their paradoxes, their metamorphosises, their contrasts and the way the human being lives in this abundant and overpopulated town planning. I was literally absorbed by the atmosphere of the megalopolis and by its astounding mix of futurism and tradition. It certainly unconsciously stimulated the search for a juxtaposition of ages in my later projects." There has also been a shift in our approach to location. When the Modern House launched, it broke with the conventional estate agent model of serving only one geographical area. “Instead, we celebrate the house and try and attract people from beyond that area,” says Gibberd. The exterior of each complex is featured, along with an informative article about how the building was designed and what its fate has become over time. Then a resident is interviewed with a standard set of questions and there is a set of stunning photographs of the interior of their homes. It's amazing how much beauty can be found even in the most brutal of brutalist structures! We looked at ten different places before buying a fourth-floor, west-facing flat. We loved the big living area, huge window and clever circulation with access from one bedroom to the other. I think Bauhaus was a very German phenomenon,” says Bettina. “We were very late to industrialise. It responded to a need to re-educate craftsmen and catch up with France and the UK. The first world war had destroyed nationalism of the imperial kind and 1919 was a new dawn.”Without Bauhaus, neither Hansa-style social housing nor modernism as we know it would have happened. The meeting point is on Triton Square, at the junction with Drummond Street. Organised by London Borough of Camden What a very interesting and a amazing read. I do judge a book by its cover and I loved this books cover so nice and simple just drew me into reading it. I didn't actually read what the book was about but I was pleasantly surprised that not only was was it a fantastic history of modernist architecture but also show pictures of an apartment and about the people who live their to. It was brilliant I loved every minute of this book. I learnt so much from reading this book and also learning about the types of people choosing to live in these very unique buildings. The questions the author asked each resident were so interesting and made for brilliant reading. I must admit modernist buildings are not my cup of tea but it still fascinated me and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading the books. The layout of the book was brilliant. I loved all the photographs included in this book. The only thing I would of liked to see more of was a picture from the same angle of the buildings present day to see the comparison of of when it was build to todays picture. I would like that people could discover, with so much surprise as I was able to have, the large estates landscapes. I would wish that they feel so much fascination and curiosity with regard to such constructions. I want that we wonder about the future of these districts, that we pay attention to their population put aside.