James Stirling & James Gowan, Ham Common Flats, London, UK, 1958 (View in Google maps)

The three apartment blocks in Langham House Close were designed by James Stirling and James Gowan for the Manousso Group as a speculative development. They were built in 1957-58 on a site that was formerly the back garden of a Georgian manor house. The main block was primarily built of load-bearing London stock brick and timber shuttered concrete. It’s a three storeys building with floor levels expressed externally by concrete bands. There is a largely glazed entrance hall with dogleg stairs in each block. Apartments in the main block have balconies drained by concrete gargoyles.  Its pattern seems to be derived from Le Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, and Maisons Jaoul. [1] [2]

The architecture of the Langham House Close flats is interesting as in the interior it is externally. The attention to detail and quality of construction, as well as the structural brick and concrete fireplaces are particularly noteworthy.  It is said that the object  present a thorough approach to the whole building both inside and out.

Links:

[1] http://www.themodernhouse.com/past-sales/langham-house-close-9/history/

[2] http://modernarchitecturelondon.com/pages/ham-common.php

Reviewed March 2017 by:

Yue Shang

Xiaolin Lu

Lizhongyang Zhou

Adelina Muntean