Inner Court, 48 Old Church Street, London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: An Historic Building Report
Author(s): Geraint Franklin
Inner Court, Old Church Street, Chelsea is a mixed-use development of 1972-74 by Cavanagh Associates. Mark Livingston and Peter Cavanagh were the job architects, with Joseph Rykwert as architectural design consultant. The low-rise complex comprises six two-storey apartments, accessed by a car ramp, and ranged around a courtyard in a U-plan, thus enclosing a central area which incorporates a car port and top-lighting for the ground floor offices. Inner Court is a good example of low-rise, medium-density speculative housing project. It reflects broader post-war trends: the integration of non-residential uses; a strong articulation of external circulation; the upper level ‘pedestrian deck’; and the use of the 45° angle in plan and section. The architects employed courtyard planning techniques developed at the Cambridge School of Architecture by Leslie Martin and Colin St John Wilson to maximise daylight, privacy and views from each apartment. The contrast between the white, horizontal volumes and the sweeping car ramp alludes to the pre-war modernism of 64 Old Church Street (Mendelssohn and Chermayeff, 1936), and 66/68 Old Church Street (Gropius and Fry, 1936). This report has been commissioned by English Heritage’s Heritage Protection Department to inform advice to the DCMS in response to a spotlisting application.
- Report Number:
- 22/2007
- Series:
- Research Department Reports
- Pages:
- 22
- Keywords:
- Modern Standing Building
