Zoom: A Better Tomorrow: London Council Housing 1946-1981 Lecture
A Better Tomorrow: London Council Housing 1946-1981 Lecture
Tuesday 8 October 2024 at 6.30pm
Online
Thaddeus Zupančič will suggest that Council housing was arguably the greatest gift that architects have bequeathed London, and has contributed immeasurably to not only the architectural, but also the social fabric of the capital.
Despite post-war austerity, relatively generous funding was available for housing by the incoming Labour government. The London County Council (LCC) alone built 44,000 new homes between 1945 and 1946.
All 28 metropolitan borough councils were also busy with their own housing schemes, most likely designed by private architects. When the LCC returned responsibility for housing to its Architect’s Department in 1949, the most radical schemes – including the Alton Estate in Roehampton – were built.
The reorganisation of London’s local government in 1965 created not only larger 32 boroughs (plus the City) and the Greater London Council (GLC) that replaced the LCC, but also the statutory post of a borough architect. By 1981 councils were housing 31 percent of households in Greater London and 43 percent in inner London.
Thaddeus Zupančič is a Slovenian-born translator, writer and photographer. His book London Estates: Modernist Council Housing 1946-1981 was recently published. He manages C20’s Instagram account @c20society as well as his own @notreallyobsessive.
Zoom - C20 Society Members: £6 Non-Members: £8
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Note: This event is hybrid and is being run both in-person at Cowcross Street Gallery and online via Zoom. The event will be recorded and offered as a catch-up lecture for those who have booked and will be available for two weeks.
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The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.
The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Above image: Great Arthur House Golden Lane Estate by Chamberlin Powell Bon for Corporation of London; 1957
Photograph: Thaddeus Zupančič
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