Teachers’ notes: h igh ri se housing developments in the p ost war period

These notes are background information for the teaching activity ‘How did the vision turn out in reality: Housing in the 1950s and 60s’ – see also ‘ Teachers Notes : A brief history of social housing ’ which give s a wider context

· 1945 26% houses were owner occupied, 1950 29%, 1966 47%, 1970 49% 1983 63%. In 1914 under 10% of houses were owner occupied

· 1947 12% of houses were rented from a Local Authority (Council) or New Town development corporation. In 1983 it was 29% ;

· 1947 58% of houses were rented from private landlords. In 1983 11%

· 475,000 homes were destroyed during WW2 – the post war Labour government accepted it had to build houses

· 1944 Housing Manual (Dudley Report) set new, higher specifications

– cooking facilities had previously been ranges in the living room and were moved into kitchens

- flats were to include sunny balconies where possible

· 1946 10 year plan to build new houses for all - mainly by local authorities

– there was more emphasis on the appearance of estates and thought given to location

– architects and planners regarded themselves as social engineers - they felt a sense of mission to create beauty and a sense of community

– the aim was ‘neighbourhood units’ mixed development schemes with a variety of house sizes and types (including flats) which would ‘mix the social classes’;

- another aim was high density, multi-storey buildings which would lift the streets into the sky; and traffic-free ‘pedestrian precincts’ to protect those who remained on the ground.

- flats were to be like a ‘vertical garden city’

– these ideas came from the architect Le Corbusier

- they were also applied to New Towns and overspill towns- less semis more maisonettes, flats and terraces

· late 1940s start of mixed development schemes by London County Council (LCC) Alton Estate Roehampton – Churchill Gardens, Pimlico

· the 1st multi story tower block was built in Harlow New Town

· mid 1950s lower building standards introduced by the Conservative government – a subsidy was given to councils for high rise blocks

· By 1957 2.5 million houses and flats had been built -75% of them were built by local authorities

- 9% of them were tower blocks (over 5 floors)

· 1965 – 1969 1.8 million homes were built – 50%of them by local authorities

· 1961 Parker Morris Report - introduced new standards - more space/better heating/improved kitchens

- housing was to reflect the new way of life – the rise of motor car ownership etc

– this led to more low rise terraced housing, through rooms/open plan, 3 beds, large windows

– this style was much used in New Towns

1964 55% of the housing built by local authorities was flats

1966 26% of the housing built by local authorities was tall tower blocks (over 5 floors)

- the Housing Corporation was established to set up housing associations (these bodies built social housing often for specific groups eg elderly people or people with disabilities)

- a major slum clearance scheme was started

· end of 1960s a policy of refurbishing old houses was introduced in addition to building new housing

· 1970s – investment in public housing fell

– the right to buy policy was introduced– encouraging people to become home owners

- 10% of housing built by local authorities was tall tower blocks (over 5 floors)

- housing policy changed to building low rise – high density terraces – refurbishment of older properties continued

· 1972 A survey of high rise tenants found flats were not always unpopular. This did depend on the general appearance and character of the estate and how it was looked after.

· 1975 council housing was one third of all housing stock

· 1979 40% of the population lived in council housing

· end of 1970s – 4,500 tower blocks had been built

· 1983 –the private sector built 72% of houses

-‘ In retrospect the high –rise flat was clearly an episode which did not fulfil the expectations of its proponents and never commanded the widespread affection, or even approval, of users’ (Burnett see below)

Reasons why high rise flats were built;

· ideals taken from 1930s modernism movement – young architects who wanted to improve/change

· vision of mini communities with different types of housing – so would get communities of teachers, social workers, nurses etc

· cheap and quick construction methods – many flats came in prefabricated sections that were then bolted together (eg Ronan Point)

· lack of skilled workers

· shortage of bricks

· because there were more couples/single person households

· to keep people who we being re-housed in their inner city neighbourhoods

· to stop overspill (moving people to new estates in the suburbs) and preserve the countryside

· flats gave high density 140 persons/acre - tower blocks thought to be cheaper than low rise

High rise abandoned in the 1970s because;

· The Ronan Point disaster in 1968 where a gas explosion caused one corner of a tower block to collapse due to poor construction – probably not as important as often said to be – from the early 1960s people were criticising tower blocks

· not suitable for families/children

· people felt lack of private space – not keen on collective living style

· concrete quickly became shabby – flats hard and expensive to maintain specially the lifts

· too many dark corners created - fear of crime

· architects became disillusioned with the way the flats were being used by local authorities – building slums of the future – some were used for ‘problem’ tenants because they were not popular with families

· building flats did not really cost significantly less – in 1967 the subsidy for building high rise was abolished

Booklist /Websites

A Social History of Housing 1815 – 1985 , John Burnett 1978 and 1986 ISBN 0-415-05921-6

Estates An Intimate History, Lynsey Hanley 2007 ISBN 13:978-1-86207-909-0

.ac.uk/video/cd_new_demo/conweb/house_ages/council_housing/print.htm

ipedia.org/wiki/Co u ncil_house

ipedia.org/wiki/Towe r _block

ependent.co.uk/arts-entertainment / art/news/architecture-the-rise-fall-and-rise-of-the-tower-block-peter-dormer-explains-why-multistorey-homes-once-cursed-may-not-be-so-bad-after-all-1395911.html

/design/ e rno-goldfinger