C - The East End

Abstract

Unlike the equivalent area in Paris, London's East End has surprisingly little of contemporary architecture to see. The little there is to see is also spread out. Colquhoun & Miller, which is at present John Miller & Partners, have two small examples of housing infill, one of them near to the best piece of architecture in the area by a young practice, Patel and Taylor. Lauriston Studios, located at Connor Street, off Lauriston Road, E9, set between the rows of 19th-century terrace housing, is one of the better examples in London of what skill, inventiveness, and perseverance can achieve with a minimal budget and against the opposition of planners and neighbors. The result against all odds is a superb piece of gritty architecture and a benchmark of what determination and stamina can achieve. Rock Townsend's London work varies from a large, speculative office building in Islington, Angel Square, pretending to be four or five disparate pieces of architecture to buildings as Leyton Fire Station, a local fire station more in the tradition of their community work such as the Crowndale Centre in Camden Town. This chapter describes the architectures of Lauriston Studios and Leyton Fire Station. Queen Mary & Westfield College Library and Queen Mary & Westfield College student accommodation are two excellent examples of current architectural projects with stringent requirements, low budgets, and demands on the designer's inventiveness and skill in the East end. The chapter also presents the architectural fineness of these two buildings.