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The bold staircase windows are a
feature of the elevations.
The twenty 6-storey blocks of flats and the one 2-storey block are laid out in two well-defined groups, one formal and the other informal, and are arranged to give most of the flats an east west aspect. The buildings are generally approached by service roads, but where the distances involved are small, only footpaths are provided. Provision has been made in the scheme, though not in the immediate building programme, for a community centre, ten lock-up shops, an estate office, garage accommodation, tennis courts, childrens' playground and a chapel of rest. The ground, which will require top- soiling. will be grassed and planted with carefully placed trees.
Accommodation
In the 6-storey blocks only the five upper storeys are used for flats. The walls of the ground floor are set back from the main face, and the building above supported on free standing columns. Each of these blocks contains twenty flats and access is gained by internal staircases and lifts: one lift and staircase serving a pair of flats at each floor level. Seven- teen blocks are devoted entirely to 3-bedroom flats and the remaining three to two-bedroom flats. The 2-storey block contains fourteen flats of the 1-bedroom type, thus giving a total of 414 fats.
The ground-floor flats of the 2-storey block will be reserved for elderly tenants, and a common room with sun shelter is provided for them.
Services and Fittings
Each living room is heated by a solid fuel open fire and hot water is supplied by an electric storage heater in the kitchen. Every flat is fitted with a linen cupboard, a meter and electric distribution board cupboard and a coal store, and has built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms. Joinery fittings, including doors, are of the flush type throughout.
The kitchen is cquipped with a larder, broom cupboard, dry goods cupboard, combined serving hatch and dresser fitment, table, and aluminium sink unit with double drainers. Provision is made for the connection of either a gas or an electric cooker.
Covering the structural floor slab with fibreglass quilting.
The refuse disposal system consists of vertical pipe ducts which run the full height of the building and discharge into mobile containers housed in special chambers at ground level. The ducts adjoin the private balconies, where each flat has an outside receiving hopper conveniently situated near the kitchen door.
Communal Amenities
In addition to entrance halls, lifts and staircases, the ground floors provide storage accommodation for perambula- tors and bicycles, covered playgrounds for the children, and communal laundry facilities. Three washing cubicles, fitted with a sink, washing machine and wringer, and a drying room fitted with electrically-heated drying cabinets are provided in each block. There are also two handicraft rooms for the use of tenants.
Walls, Floors and Roofs
There were quite a number of very interesting innovations incorporated in the construction of these flats, including the fact that on the five upper floors 1 in. thick glass fibre quilting was laid on the slab over the whole floor area. This was covered with a layer of waterproof paper covered in turn by galvanized wire netting and screeded over with 11 in. cement/ sand concrete. The quilting was turned up at the edges and the screed was thus completely isolated from the structure for the purpose of separating the floor screed and the partitions built upon it from the structural slab in order to minimize sound transmission in the building.
The Architect for the project was F. G. Southgate, A.R.I.B.A., A.M.T.P.I., M.1.Mun.E., Borough Architect, and the Assistant Architects were N. F. Pearce, A.R.I.B.A., S. W. Nash, A.L.A.A., H. C. Macaree, A.R.I.B.A. and W. F. E. Edwards.
The Engineer in charge was T. S. Cunningham, B.Sc. (Eng.), M.I.Mun.E.. Borough Engineer and Surveyor, assisted by F. Henderson, A.M.I.Mun.E., B. V. S. Iyengar, M.Sc. (Maths). B.Sc.(Eng.). A.M.I.C.E.. and J. Stebbings. B.Sc. (Eng.). A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I.Mun.E.
The Electrical Engineer was E. S. Riley, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.E.E., Borough Electrical Engineer and Manager, whilst the Quantity Surveyors were C. E. Ball and Partners, and the Chief Clerk of Works, W. G. Atkinson, M.I.C.W.A.
The General Contractors were Gee, Walker & Slater, Ltd. The Sub-Contractors included the following: Borings and soil tests by Soil Mechanics Ltd., concrete piling by Franki Compressed Pile Co., Ltd., steel reinforcement by T. C. Jones & Co., Ltd., constructional reinforced concrete framing by Flooring Contracts (London) Ltd.. and precast concrete window frames by J. A. King & Co., Ltd.
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