For years I have been fed up with the kind of place a man and a woman and a family should

live in

For years I have been fed up with [sic] etc. and for years I have been determined to do something about it, to build up the technique and the knowledge and the experience to cope with this great problem which I believe to be at the root of all social disorder and distress; this problem of the kind of place a man and a woman and a family should live in, this problem of the theatre of ordinary life, the theatre of modern living 1 Wells Coates

Coates letter to his employer before starting the design for the Isokon flats in: Elizabeth Darling, Re-forming Britain: narratives of modernity before reconstruction, (United Kingdom: 2007), p. 89

This essay will investigate the emergence of links between housing, economy and the State during the inter-war period in Britain. How did the British modern architects respond to the countrys housing reform? In a time where economic austerity becomes part of the vocabulary of the State and UK house prices have increased 273% since 1959 2, what has happened to these links? Who are the new architects and how should they respond?

During the inter-war period the British government initiated a scheme in order to reform housing in Britain. The first step of this process included the clearance of slums in the city. What would replace them had to be the vision of a new housing model for the working class. The British modern architects saw this as an opportunity and initiated a campaign in order to convince the State that architecture should contribute to the debates around this social reform. They perceived architecture as a social service and a prerequisite for the new modern living. 3 More particularly, British modernists introduced fundamentals in the design and building processes that as a consequence created strong political and economic ties with housing schemes around the country. These ties allowed the State and the economy to control the way housing was planned and built and at the same time housing became an expression of the economic and State policies and beliefs. In order to investigate the tactics of the British modern architects, a case study will be taken into account. The Kent House (figure 1) on Ferdinand Street in Chalk Farm was a social housing scheme realised in 1935 after the clearance of a slum settlement. 4 Its construction was part of a larger scheme across the country of similar projects. One of the first political Acts in Britain that pushed the idea of social housing was introduced by the Minister of Health, Arthur Greenwood. He introduced the first post-war housing legislation to tackle directly slum clearance. The Act involved the collection of large sums of money for the implementation of social housing. In addition it required that local authorities develop and submit five-year programmes of work for the development of these inner-city working class houses. These houses had to be collective, not only in order to promote communal life but also in order to reduce construction costs. 5 Local authorities working on these schemes were groups of volunteers who worked side by side with the government to assist in the reformation. One of these groups called the NSPG (North St Pancras Group) was responsible for the execution of the project on Ferdinand Street. 6 In their search for a housing model that suited their philosophy, they were lead to the minimum dwelling housing model (figure 2) that was developed and advocated by British Modern architects. The minimum dwelling, the flat, was part of a larger building. The NSPG was searching for a model that could house

Information from a research carried out by Lloyds Banking Group in: The UK Housing Market over the past 50 years. Halifax. 20 January 2010. Lloyds Bank. 5 December 2012 <http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/pdfs/research/2010/50_Years_of_Housing_UK.pdf> 3 Elizabeth Darling, Re-forming Britain: narratives of modernity before reconstruction, (United Kingdom: 2007), pp. 113 4 ibid 5 Elizabeth Darling, Re-forming Britain: narratives of modernity before reconstruction, (United Kingdom: 2007), p. 110 6 ibid, 126

FIGURE 1 KENT HOUSE ON FERDINAND STREET

as many people as possible. 7 The flat was a space that facilitated efficient and pleasant living, unencumbered by domestic duties and with access to communal facilities. Thus liberated [the residents], they could have careers, travel and be enabled to make their full contribution as citizens to corporate life by using their skills and abilities to improve the lot of others. 8 The NSPG decided to hire two British modern architects, Amyas Conell and Basil Ward in order to design the Kent House. Conell and Ward proposed several solutions to minimise construction costs. The Kent house was one of the first buildings in Britain to use reinforced concrete rather than brickwork. In addition, the construction of an external staircase to access the flats, through the use of concrete also reduced expenses. Finally, the flat block was built with standardized equipment. The minimum dwelling was using the industry to reduce building costs. Industry was able to standardize building components and mass produce them. This standardization was applied not only on the exterior of social housing such as the windows and roofs but also in the interior and furnishing of the individual flats. Hence, industry became an essential component in the regeneration of housing. 9 The cost analysis of the Kent House was carefully executed and published by surveyor Cyril Sweett. The final expenditure was estimated to be just over sixpence per cubic foot which was lower than the method of brickwork that cost approximately sevenpence per cubic foot. The publication of these figures was used as propaganda intending to show the economic grounds for the concrete building construction. 10The low cost would mean that it is possible for the government to pursue other such projects in order to eliminate slums and offer new flats for the working class. In the design of the Kent House a common space in the entrance was included (figure 3). 11 This could be used by residents as a gathering point. As mentioned above these common grounds were a usual aspect of the social housing. These spaces would force the residents to come in contact and realize the social responsibility of their citizenship. The State through architectural planning was able to impose specific meanings and practices of the British citizen. Returning to the Greenwood Act, the Kent House was one of the many social housing developments for the working class in inter-was period. Like many, the Kent House was the result of collaboration between the State, the economy and British modern architects. The State initiated and founded the political ground for the application of the British Modernists social architecture that was facilitated through the mass production of the industry. The governments idea for a mass development was certainly an important one for the British modernists. Planning would create a homogeneous city inhabited by citizens under the British Welfare State. The minimum dwellings were the solution for the urban development that was required. By embracing standardisation, the industry became a mass production machine. The economic proposition of the British architects for housing was a success.

7 8

ibid ibid, 85 9 ibid, 129 10 ibid, 130 11 This information was gathered on a visit to the Kent House on 29 November 2012

FIGURE 2 KENT HOUSE PLAN

This economic proposition, however, would become even stronger. In 1980, Thatcher introduced the deregulation of the financial sector and the privatization of social housing. 12 Residents were able to buy their house from the State and become the owners of their flats. This act reduced the States responsibility over housing. Economy became the main regulator of housing establishing the single-occupancy model. The Kent house after Thatchers new law altered its character. It is now privately owned by different individuals. Its entrance is closed off by iron gates (figure 4). On the sides there are protective barriers to keep away the outsiders. 13 These additions to the Kent House are a consequence of the British Modernists economic proposition. Jean Francois Lyotard argues that postmodernism is not different than modernism; it just reveals another relation to modernism. 14 A new invented modernism whose main characteristic is the economic dominance over the State. In his book, The Postmodern Condition: A report on knowledge (1979), he writes: Already in the last few decades, economic powers have reached the point of imperilling the stability of the state through new forms of the circulation of capital that go by the generic name of multinational corporations. These new forms of circulation imply that investment decisions have, at least in part, passed beyond the control of the nation-states. The question threatens to become even more thorny with the development of computer technology and telematics. Suppose, for example, that a firm such as IBM is authorised to occupy a belt in the earths orbital field and launch communications satellites or satellites housing data banks. Who will have access to them? Who will determine which channels or data are forbidden? The State? Or will the State simply be one user among others? 15 The development of postmodern economics is a rejection of the standardisation of modernism. Postmodernisms campaign for pluralism and subjective freedom resulted in a social heterogeneity. David Harvey, in The Condition of Postmodernity presents Postmodernism as the idea that a city consists of individual units, of fragments of the past histories of a city that are collaged. 16 Hence, the city becomes a collection of different ideas and ways of living according to the choices of each individual. The house becomes one of these spaces where its owner can create his own world. However, the creation of ones space is carried out through economy. The building of Selfridges is an accurate example of the adaptability of the economy from modernism to postmodernism. DOMINATED by 22 pillars, the long grey neoclassical 1909 faade of Selfridges, one of London's great department stores, seems anachronistic. The exterior suggests valuesof grandeur, dignity and authorityfrom another era. The interior doesn't. Consumer anarchy reigns, with over 3,000 different brands, all in their own concessions, screaming for attention.
12 13 14

A whole world sold on sell-offs. Larry Elliott and Jill Treanor. 22 November 2000. The Guardian. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2000/nov/22/thatcher.politics1>

This information was gathered on a visit to the Kent House on 29 November 2012 Jean Francois Lyotard quoted in: Ruccio, David. Postmodernism and economics. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, No 4, vol. 13 (1991), p. 495 15 Jean Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A report on knowledge, (Manchester, 1984), pp. 5-6 16 David Hurvey, The condition of Postmodernity, (Massachussets, 1991), p.67

FIGURE 3 KENT HOUSE COMMON SPACE

Selfridges nearly went out of business (as so many department stores have done) in the 1990s. But it reinvented itself by dismissing the order, formality and stillness of the old stores. Every brand was given its head and allowed to do what it wanted. Uniforms are out, as is standard decor, shelving and presentation. There is no hierarchy of goods; watches compete with perfume, luggage with high fashion, cafs with fast food. 17 Hence, postmodernism and neo-liberalism, although they developed quite independently, in reality pointed in much the same direction. 18 They both wanted to emancipate the individual from the homogeneity of the collective. The individual becomes the artist of his own life. Consequently, one can say that the house becomes the space that the individual invents. Nonetheless, the house is composed by the brands that exist in Selfridges. As a result, the interior of the city becomes like the new interior of Selfridges. The exterior is conserved. The search for individuality through economy demanded an influx of money. The easy mortgage lending that was introduced by the banking system after Thatchers privatization policies 19 became all the more popular. Lending became the tool for individuals to create their own house. That meant that competitiveness rose and as a result housing prices in Britain increased. The affordability of housing in the UK has deteriorated causing a housing crisis. 20 Now that the banking system is failing and hundreds of people are left without a home, housing has become a problem. Housing processes can no longer be linked to the State because the State has excluded itself from them. The working class is no longer able to create a home through the economy. Hence, what should be the new housing model? What can the alternative be if neither the government nor the economy is able to control housing schemes? An article in the Guardian suggests that squatters can occupy a part of societys architecture too. Due to public sector cuts, the Friern Barnet library was shut down. Squatters from the community occupied the building and now the library is running again. Squatters can repair, fix and renovate buildings, turning abandoned spaces into homes. 21 The first mass squatting, known as the Vigilante Campaign, occurred after the Second World War. It started from Brighton and then spread to other seaside towns. Bombings had left several families homeless. Committees consisted of mainly ex-servicemean installed these homeless families in vacated military camps undercover at night. The families managed to organize their own communal services. The government announced in 1946 that 1,038 camps in the UK had been occupied. In total around four thousand people were squatting the camps 22

17

Postmodernism is the new black. 19 December 2006. The economist. 5Decemeber 2012 < http://www.economist.com/node/8401159> 18 ibid
19 20

The housing crisis deepens. Mark Easton. 12 June 2012. BBC news. 5 December 2012 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18416365> 21 Squatters reopen Friern Barnet Library after council closes service. Diane Taylor. 11 September 2012. The Guardian. 5 Decemeber 2012 < http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/11/squatters-reopen-friern-barnet-library> 22 The hidden history of housing. Colin Ward. September 2004. History and Policy. 5 December 2012 < http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-25.html>.

A whole world sold on sell-offs. Larry Elliott and Jill Treanor. 22 November 2000. The Guardian. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2000/nov/22/thatcher.politics1>

FIGURE 4 KENT HOUSE IRON GATES

The second mass squatting took place between 1960s and 1970s. This time the spaces of occupation consisted of vacant local-authority properties. Inspired by the Vigilante Campaign, the London Squatters was set up. During a march of 200 people in February 1968, properties were spontaneously taken over in the area of Redbridge. These properties would then evolve into longterm housing co-operatives. 23 The result of the London Squatters was an important one because it managed to ensure that owners seeking eviction went through the courts, thus giving squatters some level of security. Lewisham council was one of the first to begin negotiations with squatters instead of dismissing them. An agreement to license the short-term use of empty properties was reached and in December the first family moved into a licensed squat. The Lewisham Family Squatting Association was created which was able to house around 100 families at a time. A series of information sheets on legal, practical and organisational aspects of squatting was produced by the councils and the squatters. 24 Today, there exist several squatting communities. Some of the biggest ones are located in Berlin. One in particular involves pensioners aging from 67 to 96 (figure 5). They are squatting an old community centre named Stille Stasse 10. The building was destined for foreclosure and estate development. Now the pensioners have created a clubhouse, resisting the new real estate development, and creating their own house outside the influence of the economy. 25 Squatting could become a new housing model. The housing crisis in Britain, leaves disused property in the city that could re-house families that are not able to afford the UK housing prices. The housing model, instead of being dependent and planned by the economy or the State can instead be planned by self-organized citizens. Squatting can become a type of do-it-yourself housing. In a similar way as the Berlin pensioners, squatting works through community action, the involvement of a group of people in order to create a house. This self-help housing action has as a result a new way of planning the city. James Holston, in his article, Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship states that the crucial question for us to consider [] is how to include the ethnographic present in planning, that is, the possibilities for change encountered in existing social conditions. 26 Hence, instead of planning being imposed on the city as a completely new reality as envisioned by the modern architects, a planning that stems from the citizens could be possible. Then, squatting could create what Holston describes as Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship. The Berlin squatters created an improvised housing model for pensioners, thus defining their identity and role as citizens in the city of Berlin. The State needs to support the idea of an insurgent citizenship and not prescribe one. The first agreements between squatters and the State in 1960s showed an acceptance towards
ibid. ibid. 25 Berlins oldest squatters in town defend threatened community centre. Kate Conolly. 20 July 2012. The guardian. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/20/germany-europe-news> 26 Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship. James Holston. 5 December 2012 <http://tiranaworkshop09.pbworks.com/f/James%2BHolston%2Bspaces%2Bof%2Binsurgent%2Bcitizenship.pd f>
24 23

FIGURE 5 BERLIN SQUATTING PENSIONERS

squatting. It showed that the government recognized squatting as the solution for housing homeless citizens. If squatting becomes a practice supported by the State legislation then new identities can emerge in the cities that disrupt established ones. Citizens are allowed to invent their citizenship, not through economy but through group action. If housing is seen as an insurgent space, then architecture needs to redefine how planning is addressed. The British modern architects perceived planning as a corrosive process. By this I mean that the social housing schemes were wiping off whatever existed before and placed a new imposed reality on the city. The problem with this new reality, however, was that it was decontextualized. That is the reason why postmodernism called for individualism. The infrastructure of housing remained the same but the interiors changed. Today, there is an abundance of empty properties around the UK that range from newly developed office spaces to houses that can be transformed in insurgent spaces. Planning, instead of being obsessed with the design of house interiors and exteriors or the implementation of strategic plans, can become the means to adopt the infrastructure to facilitate an ethnographic formation of the city.

Bibliography Darling Elizabeth, Re-forming Britain: narratives of modernity before reconstruction, Routledge: United Kingdom, 2007. Hurvey David, The condition of Postmodernity, Blackwell: Massachusetts, 1991. Lyotard Jean Francois, The Postmodern Condition: A report on knowledge, Massachusetts University Press: Manchester, 1984.

Journal Ruccio, David. Postmodernism and economics. Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, No 4, vol. 13 (1991).

Web pages The UK Housing Market over the past 50 years. Eds. Halifax et al. 20 January 2010. London. 5 December 2012 <http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/pdfs/research/2010/50_Years_of_Housing_UK.pdf> A whole world sold on sell-offs. Eds. Larry Elliott and Jill Treanor et al. 22 November 2000. London. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2000/nov/22/thatcher.politics1> Postmodernism is the new black. The economist at al. 19 December 2006. London. 5 Decemeber 2012 < http://www.economist.com/node/8401159> The housing crisis deepens. Ed. Mark Easton et al. 12 June 2012. London. 5 December 2012 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18416365> Squatters reopen Friern Barnet Library after council closes service. Diane Taylor et al. 11 September 2012. London. 5 Decemeber 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/11/squatters-reopen-friern-barnet-library> The hidden history of housing. Colin Ward. September 2004. History and Policy. 5 December 2012 < http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-25.html>. Berlins oldest squatters in town defend threatened community centre. Kate Conolly. 20 July 2012. Berlin. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/20/germany-europe-news> Spaces of Insurgent Citizenship. James Holston. 5 December 2012 <http://tiranaworkshop09.pbworks.com/f/James%2BHolston%2Bspaces%2Bof%2Binsurgent%2Bcitiz enship.pdf>

List of illustrations Figure 1: Kent House, Ferdinand St, Primrose Hill, London, Belsize Park, London, Greater London NW1 8ET Source: wordisaround.com, 5 December 2012 < http://www.worldisround.com/articles/3899/photo3.html> Figure 2: Plan of Kent House Source: Darling Elizabeth, Re-forming Britain: narratives of modernity before reconstruction, Routledge: United Kingdom, 2007, p.131 Figure 3: Kent House common space Source: Taken by author Figure 4: Kent House entrance Source: Taken by author Figure 5: Berlin squatting pensioners Source: Berlins oldest squatters in town defend threatened community centre. Kate Conolly. 20 July 2012. Berlin. 5 December 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/20/germany-europe-news>