22 Parkside (also the Rogers House) is a residential property in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, designed in 1967 by British architect

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

and his then wife,

Su Rogers Susan Jane Rogers ( Brumwell; born 22 February 1939) is a British designer and educator. She was a co-founder and partner during the 1960s and 1970s in two architectural practices Team 4 and Richard + Su Rogers. From 1986 to 2011, she was a par ...

, and built in 1968–70. The house is located at 22 Parkside, Wimbledon, south-west London, near

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

. Since 22 February 2013, it has been a Grade II* listed building. In 2015 the building was renovated and donated to the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

, after Richard Rogers failed to sell the building.

Introduction

22 Parkside on the

A219 A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

is a single-storey house designed in 1967 for Rogers' parents (Dr. William Nino and Dada Rogers) by Rogers and his then wife, Su. Set in a narrow plot of woodland just opposite Wimbledon Common, the house was built in 1968–70. It is a notable early example of Rogers' work. The house was adapted and extended by Rogers' son Ab, who moved into the house with his family in 1998. In 2015 Richard Rogers donated the house to the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It was renovated by architect Philip Gumuchdjian, who restored it to its original design. Harvard Graduate School of Design use the building as part of a residency programme that host students.

Design

The single-storey

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

house is made from bright yellow-painted steel ribs with full-height glazing at each end, and is separated into two parts. The first part is a flat and pottery studio for Rogers' mother, with the main house set in trees behind. Day space includes a large open-plan kitchen, living room and dining room. There are a master bedroom, two small bedrooms, a bathroom and utility room. Two opposite sides of the house, north-east and south-west, have ceiling-to-wall glass with views onto the grounds, which consist of a courtyard and landscaped gardens. The roof is flat and covered in felt. Rogers himself believes this to be among the best example of his early work. Rogers said that the approach he used to design this early work, such as the use of prefabricated steel and glass modules, served as an inspiration for much of his future work, which includes the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

, co-designed with

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (20 ...

, and the Grade I listed

Lloyd's building The Lloyd's building (sometimes known as the Inside-Out Building) is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London. It is located on the former site of East India House in Lime Street, in London's main financial district, the City of ...

. In listing it, English Heritage gave four reasons: its architectural and structural interest, historic interest, experimental use of materials and techniques and its intactness. Architecturally, they called it "an early, executed example of a High-Tech, steel-framed house in Britain" commenting on the significance of "prefabricated components" and "neoprene gaskets". Historically, they described it as "an important early work by a very significant architectural practice", and "a highly significant, surviving early British High-Tech building". With regard to material and techniques, English Heritage cited the use of "factory-finished components and dry construction", the "lightness and precision of steel", allowing "clear spans required for open-plan living and flexibility". As for intactness, it was noted that "the intention, structure and main built-in fittings are clearly legible, alongside later modifications, an endorsement of its versatility."

Ownership

The house has been owned entirely by the Rogers' family since it was built. Since 1988 the house has been occupied by Rogers' son Ab and his family and the property was extended before being put up for sale in 2013 for £3.2 million. The property was never sold and the house was taken off the market. Rogers' charity, the Richard Rogers Charitable Settlement, donated it to the Harvard Graduate School of Design, providing a resource for students studying architecture. Rogers said ''"The house will be a gift to Harvard for training of doctorates in the field of architecture – my charity is giving it to them."''

Sources

Citations

References

* {{cite book, last=Irving, first=Mark, year=2012, title=1001 Houses You Must See Before You Die, location=London, publisher=Cassell Illustrated, isbn=978-1-84403-738-4 Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Merton Grade II* listed houses in London 1970 establishments in England High-tech architecture Houses completed in 1970 Houses in the London Borough of Merton Richard Rogers buildings Modernist architecture in London Buildings and structures in Wimbledon, London