The Hallfield Estate, owned by

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

, is one of several

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 ...

housing projects in

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

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 the immediate postwar period by the

Tecton The Tecton Group was a radical architectural group co-founded by Berthold Lubetkin, Francis Skinner, Denys Lasdun, Michael Dugdale, Anthony Chitty, Val Harding, Godfrey Samuel, and Lindsay Drake in 1932 and disbanded in 1939. The group was one ...

architecture practice, led by

Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Georgian-British architecture, architect who pioneered International style (architecture), modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint I, Hi ...

. Following the dissolution of Tecton, the project was realised by

Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie ('' née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his ...

and Lindsay Drake in the 1950s. Construction took place in two phases during 1951–55 and 1955–58. The estate is at , south of Bishops Bridge Road in

. It comprises 15 blocks spread over roughly , a laundry (now used as the local Estate Office), and the

Hallfield Primary School Hallfield Primary School is a two–form-entry co-educational primary school housed in a building of architectural distinction. It is a grade II* listed building in Inverness Terrace on the Hallfield Estate in London, built in 1953–1955 and d ...

, also by Lasdun. Architecturally, the design shares much with similar Tecton projects of the period, including the Priory Green and Spa Green Estates, and the

Finsbury Health Centre The Finsbury Health Centre is in Clerkenwell, on the edge of the City of London. It was built in 1935–38, designed by Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton architecture practice. The design shares some of its materials and detailing with similar Lube ...

. Hallfield was designated a conservation area by Westminster City Council in 1990, and the majority of Estate buildings were listed Grade II in June 2011. John Penrose, the Minister responsible for the 2011 listing, commented: "These blocks show real flair and beauty, and all the more so considering the post-war era in which they were conceived. Sixty years on, they have become a distinctive part of the London landscape, still looking good and remaining popular with residents and visitors alike." Hannah Parham, the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

Designation Advisor, responded to the 2011 listing decision by adding: “The estate presents a convincing riposte to criticism that postwar council housing is grey, drab and utilitarian. At Hallfield, the exteriors of each block are treated like works of abstract art – some are patterned with a chequerboard of blue and red brickwork; others have a zigzagging screen of white concrete panels. The estate now exists amongst an elite group of 16 listed post-war housing estates in London – estates that are successful as places to live and are cared for by their residents.”

CityWest Homes controversy

In 2010, a £10 million pound project managed by

CityWest Homes CityWest Homes was an arm's length management organisation (ALMO) of Westminster City Council, London, England, established in April 2002 in order to manage its housing stock. They managed over 21,000 properties which included council tenant a ...

– Westminster Councils

Arms-length management organisation In the United Kingdom, an arms-length management organisation (ALMO) is a not-for-profit company that provides housing services on behalf of a local authority. Usually an ALMO is set up by the authority to manage and improve all or part of its ho ...

– commenced to refurbish the estate. The refurbishment included replacement of 50-year-old windows, as they did not meet the Government's

Decent Homes Standard The Decent Homes Standard is a technical standard for public housing introduced by the United Kingdom government. It underpinned the Decent Homes Programme brought in by the Blair ministry ( Labour party) which aimed to provide a minimum standard ...

(requiring windows in blocks over six storeys to be replaced after 30 years). However, during 2012 and early in 2013 problems arose in the project. Hallfield resident Edward Newnham, said it's "blind leading the blind. It's just a mockery." Resident James Killeen, said: "The problem is with CityWest Homes. They were the managers of the thing and they should have been clearer." On 30 December 2013, after reading a

confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

report written by CityWest Homes

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Nick Barton Nicholas Hamilton Barton (born 30 August 1955) is a British evolutionary biologist. Education Barton was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge where he graduated with a first-class degree in Biological Sciences (Cambridge) in 1976 and gained his ...

, Westminster City Council and contractor

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

-based Mulalley reached a compromise agreement to end the contract. Following the controversy, Hallfield estate leaseholders considered taking legal action against CityWest Homes.

References

* John Allan & Morley von Sternberg, ''Berthold Lubetkin'' (Merrell, 2002) * John Allan, ''Lubetkin: Architecture and the Tradition of Progress'' (RIBA 1992)

External links

* * Also see
Plan of Hallfield Conservation Area
* *{{NHLE, num=1402283 , desc=Hallfield Estate (14 residential blocks and laundry) , accessdate= Residential buildings completed in 1958 Modernist architecture in London Housing estates in the City of Westminster Denys Lasdun buildings Berthold Lubetkin buildings Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster