Description

SOUTHWARK

TQ3576 ST MARY'S ROAD 636-1/12/725 (East side) Sassoon House

II

Block of flats. 1934. By E Maxwell Fry; interior arrangements in collaboration with Elizabeth Denby. Outer walls of concrete with cork insulation inside. 2 rows of stanchions down the spine of the building form the main supports, the beams projecting as cantilevers to either side; floors suspended between these beams. The walls have shallow foundations, the main weight of the structure being carried on the stanchions. The concrete is reinforced. Roof parapeted, recently recovered. STYLE: International Modern PLAN: rectangular in plan. EXTERIOR: 5 storeys; projecting, glazed stair tower to the north, 6 storeys providing access to roof. Continuous balconies to north from which each flat entered; recessed balconies and strip windows to the south; projecting balconies to end bays. Spur wall with words R.E.SASSOON HOUSE enclosing parking area to north. All windows are flat-arched. Recent alterations to original glazing and parapet. Horseman in red, black and white vitrolite to stair hall, designed by Hans Feibusch. INTERIOR: not inspected. HISTORICAL NOTE: conceived as part of a larger housing complex to be centred on the Pioneer Health Centre, now Southwark Adult Education Institute, St Mary's Road (qv), and partly funded by charitable donations from Lady Sassoon; these working-class flats were intended to be self-financing. Notices in the architectural press at the time of completion praised the planning and in particular what were considered to be 'substantial living rooms', each of which opens onto a balcony that was intended as a sheltered play area for children. Unusually each kitchen was fitted with standard units and a combination heater/cooking stove; each flat had a separate bathroom at a time when baths were usually located in the kitchen. An important early instance of working-class housing in a Modernist idiom. (Architect's Journal, 26 April 1934; Architect and Building News, 23 November 1934).



Listing NGR: TQ3525976494

External Links

• Wikidata Q26665628

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