Kensal House
| Kensal House | |
|---|---|
Modernist | |
| Location | Ladbroke Grove, London, England |
| Address | 1-68, Ladbroke Grove W10 |
| Coordinates | 51°31′31″N 0°12′54″W / 51.5253°N 0.2151°W |
| Completed | 1937 |
| Client | Gas Light and Coke Company |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Maxwell Fry |
| Awards and prizes | Royal Gold Medal (1963) |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Kensal House |
| Designated | 19 March 1981 |
| Reference no. | 1225244 |
Kensal House is a housing estate of two curved blocks of 68 housing association flats at the northern end of Ladbroke Grove, London, completed in 1937 and designed by the architect Maxwell Fry. It was the first modernist block in the UK designed to be occupied by the working class and on completion in 1937, was widely thought to be a prototype for modern living.
Design
It was commissioned and financed by the Gas Light and Coke Company (GLCC) to provide 68 "working-class flats", housing 380 people.[1][2] It was the first modernist block in the UK designed for this purpose.[1] The project included a community centre, communal laundry, canteen and a nursery school.[3] The development was unusual in that there was no electricity provided, rather gas fires, coke fires, gas cookers, gas water heaters, and gas-powered irons.[4]
The project was designed by Maxwell Fry,
Depictions
In 1937, the estate was the subject of an 11-minute documentary, Welcome to Kensal House, produced by the British Commercial Gas Association.[2][5] In 1940, Kensal House provided the cover image for James Maude Richards's An Introduction to Modern Architecture, published by Penguin Books.[5]
In 1942, Kensal House was featured prominently on a lithograph poster "Your Britain. Fight for It Now", designed by Abram Games, his second poster for the Army Bureau of Current Affairs.[3] The poster contrasts derelict slum housing with the clean, white and modern aesthetic of Kensal House.[3] Further wording on the poster reads: "Clean, airy and well planned dwellings make a great contribution to the Rehousing movement. This is a fine example of a block of workers' flats built in London in 1936."[6]
In 1984, a 55-minute documentary, Twelve Views of Kensal House, was filmed on the property by Peter Wyeth.[7] The film called attention to tenants who occupied the building since 1936. It featured Maxwell Fry, Stephen Bayley and Michael C. Burgess.[8]
Recognition
Kensal House was a
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Kensal House". Open University. 26 November 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Kensal House". BFI. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d "'Your Britain. Fight For it Now', 1942". National Army Museum. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d Priest, Isabelle (24 October 2018). "Watershed in housing history: Edwin Maxwell Fry". RIBA Journal. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-134-32519-1.
- ^ "A modern block of flats contrasted with a row of unhealthy terrace houses. Colour lithograph after A. Games, 1942". Wellcome library. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Foxon, Steven (18 August 2022). "12 Views of Kensal House". BFI Southbank Programme Notes. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "KENSAL HOUSE, Kensington and Chelsea – 1225244 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
- ^ "KENSAL HOUSE DAY NURSERY, Kensington and Chelsea – 1266444 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.