Abstract
This paper investigated the spatial delight and environmental performance of the open spaces and two selected apartments in the modernist buildings at Golden Lane Estate built after the 2nd World War, between 1952 and 1961. This estate is a Grade II listed, high density, low cost housing complex designed by three young architects: Peter Chamberlin, Geoffrey Powell and Christof Bon. It was built over a bombed site and well embraced the post-war modern architecture ethos, environmental considerations and inclusion of social facilities and landscaped communal spaces. Selected communal open spaces and two apartments in different building blocks with similar attributes were chosen for this study. However, one apartment has been refurbished with internal insulation and secondary glazing for improving the comfort conditions. Through fieldwork, which included subjective observation of the spatial quality of both outdoor and indoor spaces, on-site monitoring and interview of the building occupants, first-hand information on the environmental and comfort conditions inside the apartments were obtained. Through performance based theoretical analysis, archival research and observations, the spatial quality and comfort conditions in the apartments and their energy demand were critically assessed. The research findings indicate that the design of the communal outdoor spaces in the Golden Lane Estate were well thought through and the spacing between the building blocks responded well to the requirements of spatial delight, solar and daylight access and outdoor environmental comfort. Through selective enhancement of the thermal property of the building envelope, the original naturally ventilated and well day-lit living environments were maintained while energy demand was reduced by 30%, and the overall comfort level was significantly improved. This paper presents the feasible strategies to tackle the environmental challenges in the post-war Grade II listed residential buildings in the UK.
Highlights
Revisiting iconic examples of Modernist architecture, which have influenced and continue to influence the architecture of many European cities, is important nowadays in light of the continuous strive towards better and more sustainable buildings globally
Research Methodology This paper explores both spatial delight and environmental performance of the outdoor spaces and selected apartments in the modernist buildings at the Golden Lane Estate (Figure 1)
This study demonstrated the relevance and appropriateness of the environmental strategies applied to the design of the Golden Lane Estate, which exemplifies to these days timeless modernity and adaptability to the social, environmental and climatic changes occurred over the past 60 years
Summary
Revisiting iconic examples of Modernist architecture, which have influenced and continue to influence the architecture of many European cities, is important nowadays in light of the continuous strive towards better and more sustainable buildings globally. British Modernism (Powers, 2017) is well represented in London through many examples of public buildings and residential developments which provide a unique type of naturally ventilated buildings where inhabitants still enjoy considerable spatial and environmental quality. This is especially the case for the Golden Lane Estate located in the City of London designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon (CP&B) in the 1950s (Harwood, 2011). The significance of studying the architectural quality and environmental performance
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