Between city and home: Spaces of transition in London Postwar Housing

Abstract

In the period between the idealistic vision of the ‘Reshapingsociety’ and Thatcherism, in the so-called ‘SwingingLondon’, the second wave of modernism is facing the demands and the quantities of bombed cities. The architects of that season, moved by political ideals and interpreting the cultural ferment, have been responsible for shaping the city on the collective dreams and aspirations of the society and for forging the identity of London as unique experience in the international panorama. This paper focuses on the spatial relations between city and home, how they raised in that specific historical context, in which form they realized, and what are the architectural implications for current design culture. The methodology, based both on the literatu rereview and on the graphic comparison of six case-studies, is articulated in four steps. First, the six case-studies are selected according to specific criteria. Second, the sociohistorical background is reported. Third, the cases are shortly introduced using text descriptions and graphic tools. Fourth, the cases are compared. This process leads to the definition of four transversal architectural items: the density, the settlement pattern, the basement, and the threshold, intended as elements able to raise connections between past and contemporary design culture.

Key words： London; Housing; Space ofrelation; Transition