Kensal House is a

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

of two curved blocks of 68

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

at the northern end of

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given ...

, London, completed in 1937 and designed by the architect Maxwell Fry. It was the first

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

block in the UK designed to be occupied by the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

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 The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on H ...

(GLCC) to provide 68 "working-class flats", housing 380 people. It was the first modernist block in the UK designed for this purpose. The project included a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, communal laundry, canteen and a

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

. 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. The project was designed by Maxwell Fry, but was developed by a committee of five architects and the social reformer

Elizabeth Denby Elizabeth Denby (1894 – 3 November 1965) was an English social housing expert and consultant. Biography Denby was from Bradford, Yorkshire, the daughter of a doctor. She went to Bradford Girls Grammar School and then studied at the London ...

, who had worked with Fry at the Peckham Pioneer Health Centre. The GLCC wanted to show that a modern building could be run cheaply and powered safely by gas. Fry wanted to create what he called an

urban village In urban planning and design, an urban village is an urban development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianization and public space. Contemporary urban village ide ...

, and he and Denby wanted to offer working people "healthier, happier, safer, and more fulfilling lives". According to the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, "Kensal House marks the point in the story of British Modernist architecture when the social/political ideals of the early modernists come to the fore." On completion in 1937 it was widely thought to be a prototype for modern living.

Depictions

Your Britain Fight For It Now poster L0023780

In 1937, the estate was the subject of an 11-minute documentary, ''Welcome to Kensal House'', produced by the British Commercial Gas Association. In 1940, Kensal House provided the cover image for

James Maude Richards Sir James Maude Richards, FRIBA (13 August 1907 – 27 April 1992) was a British architectural writer. James Maude Richards was born in 1907, at Ladypath, Park Lane, Carshalton, Surrey. His father, Louis Saurin Richards, was a solicitor, a ...

's ''An Introduction to Modern Architecture'', published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. In 1942, Kensal House was featured prominently on a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

poster "Your Britain. Fight for It Now", designed by

Abram Games Abram Games (29 July 191427 August 1996) was a British graphic designer. The style of his work – refined but vigorous compared to the work of contemporaries – has earned him a place in the pantheon of the best of 20th-century graphic desi ...

, his second poster for the

Army Bureau of Current Affairs The Army Bureau of Current Affairs (ABCA) was an organisation within the British Army during World War II to promote discussion among soldiers about current events, citizenship, and post-war reconstruction. In August 1940, Lord Croft, Under-Se ...

. The poster contrasts derelict slum housing with the clean, white and modern aesthetic of Kensal House. 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."

Recognition

Kensal House was a

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is g ...

winner in 1963. It is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

, as is the associated Kensal House Day Nursery.

References

External links

Welcome to Kensal House, an 11-minute documentary, filmed in 1937
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kensal House Residential buildings completed in 1937 Ladbroke Grove Apartment buildings in London Modernist architecture in London Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 1937 establishments in England