1897-1899 Millbank Estate (Architectural Competition)

MILLBANK DWELLINGS COMPETITION - The Housing of the Working Classes Committee reported as follows: On November 16, 1897, the Council approved the conditions upon which certain selected architects were invited to send in competitive designs for a specimen block of dwellings which, if found suitable, might be erected on a plot of land on the Millbank estate, Westminster. On the same day the Council voted a sum of £300 and authorised us to divide it between the competitors in such proportion as the assessor, Mr. W. D. Caröe, should determine. We have now to report that the assessor has made his award dividing the sum of £300 between five competitors in the following manner Spalding & Cross, £150; Messrs. Joseph, Son, & Smithem, £75; Messrs. Howgate, Leeds, & Keith, £25, Mr. H. W. Dobb, £25; Messrs. Gibson & Russell, £25. We are considering as to whether it will be possible to erect a block of dwellings according to Messrs. Spalding & Cross' plans without incurring any charge upon the county rate, and as to this we will report later." [Builder 18 March 1899 page 275]

THE MILLBANK COMPETITION - This was promoted by the London County Council with the object, no doubt, of seeing if it were possible to obtain any fresh light from outside upon a difficult and hitherto unsolved problem. The question of providing soundly constructed, healthy, and sufficiently spacious homes for working-class families at rents within their means is no new one; both public bodies and well-known philanthropic organisations have for many years past attempted to deal with it. The claim is sometimes made that they have been successful, but such success is obviously only partial when has to be acknowledged that the rents necessarily charged, if the other conditions are fulfilled, are beyond the means of classes below the comparatively well-paid mechanic in so far as rehousing the thriftless slum populations disturbed by public improvements, the particular task imposed upon the County Council by law and elementary justice, is concerned, the effort has resulted in what can only be called absolute failure. Add to this that the problem becomes every year both more pressing and more difficult to solve; the increase in the value of land, the cost of building and our ideas of what are reasonably comfortable and healthy conditions of living more than counterbalancing the increase in the rate of wages; and it is no wonder that the Council, while having every faith in its own Architect's department, should wish to see if it could get any hints from the experience of others. Though no large measure of success could reasonably have been expected, the trial was worth making; indeed, it was obviously right it should be made. Many outside architects have experience of such buildings, and there was always the chance that one of the selected sixteen who accepted the invitation might, by applying his mind to the subject, become inspired with some happy thought that would throw fresh and valuable light upon it.

We have not seen the conditions and particulars supplied to the competitors; but the great variety of treatment in the seven designs submitted (Messrs. N. Joseph, Son, and Smithem sent two) shows that considerable latitude was allowed; and the fact that Mr. W. D. Caröe, who, if he has ever had experience of such buildings, is better known in other ways, and unlikely to have any fads or narrow or prejudiced opinions, was chosen as assessor, may be taken as evidence that the Council wished to give every chance to fresh ideas. It must, however, be confessed that a careful scrutiny of the drawings exhibited last week at the offices in Spring-gardens leads to the conclusion that those Councillors who had the most modest expectations are least likely to be disappointed. Not that any large number of the designs are other than good ones, but they exhibit no fresh ideas of any important or far-reaching description in the desired direction. The principal suggestions they seem to us to make are for a better and more architectural treatment of the exterior of such buildings, the abandonment of any attempt to make one stairway serve for more than two tenements on each floor, and the widening of the customary open-air passage or balcony to the water-closets into something more like a little open yard. This last suggestion is made by Messrs. Spalding and Cross, to whom the highest premium of £150 has been awarded, the second premium going to one of Messrs.  Joseph, Son, and Smithem's designs, and three smaller ones to Messrs. Howgate, Leeds, and Keith, Mr. Dobb, and Messrs. Gibson and Russell, respectively.

The site is a shallow corner one with a long frontage to Earl-street on the west and a shorter one to a new street on the south. The north end is irregular, sharply inclined, so as to leave the back boundary much shorter than the frontage, and flanked, as we gather from Mr. Caröe's report, by high buildings which shut out light on that side Most of the competitors have chosen the immediately obvious plan of putting a long range of buildings on the front, generally with a return wing on the south. Two at least have also added a short wing returned at an angle of about forty-five degrees at the north end, and two have suggested blocks at right angles to the long front. With one or two exceptions all make their buildings five stories high; but the amount of accommodation obtained is amazingly diverse, ranging from a minimum of thirty dwellings to a maximum of seventy. It need hardly be said that in the latter case, though great ingenuity has been displayed in the planning, the site is far too crowded and light and air deficient. Most of the plans provide, chiefly, three and two room dwellings, with a small scullery and cupboard for food, and an open "balcony" giving access to a water-closet, and generally also to the food cupboard and coal store. Most of the "balconies" are mere open passages from which, in many cases, the scullery obtains its only light and air. Some competitors have provided a proportion of single room and four roomed dwellings; five rooms even occur in a few plans, but in these cases the designs generally are better adapted to blocks of small flats of a superior class than to workmen's dwellings. Several competitors have tried to economise by making one staircase serve for three or four dwellings on each floor, and no doubt the economy is an important one; but the result has always been to complicate the planning or necessitate long, ill-ventilated passages. The provision of washhouse accommodation has received various solutions; some appear to have omitted it altogether, others provide it in the yard at the back of the site or elsewhere, others again put a small washhouse close to each staircase on every floor, and one puts washhouse and a drying-room to each stairway on the roof, which is asphalted for use as a drying-ground. Whether the smuts from the surrounding chimneys would not make it a very undesirable place for hanging wet linen seems a question worth consideration.

Messrs. Spalding & Cross propose a long block facing Earl-street, with six three-room dwellings and one two-room one on each of the five floors, separated by a passage 12 ft. 6 in. wide from a shorter one on the south front, containing four two-room dwellings on each floor, altogether fifty-five dwellings; and they show on flaps how to provide one more two-roomed dwelling on each floor at the north end of the long block if desired. This addition would be objectionable, as tending seriously to interfere with the otherwise admirable provision for the circulation of air round the blocks, but the assessor thinks even the fifty-five dwellings too many to put upon the site, and suggests their reduction to forty by omitting half the short block and the two-roomed dwellings in the long one. The simplicity and directness of the planning, and the provision of direct cross-ventilation everywhere are admirable. In the three-roomed dwellings the staircase, which serves only two on each floor, is on the front, next to it a bedroom with a passage beyond, and then the living-room of the depth of bedroom and passage combined. The second bedroom is at the back of the living-room and of the same width, which leaves the width of the first bedroom and half the staircase to be divided between the scullery and open balcony at the back. This is so arranged that both the stair and passage can be ventilated from the balcony, from which both the scullery and water closet are entered. The latter is cut out of the corner of the former, and each gets a small window. The food cupboard, with a coal-box beneath it, is placed in a recess in the back wall of the balcony, well away from the water-closet. The door to the first bedroom opposite the passage window, and the door between the living-room and second bedroom, secure direct cross ventilation to all the rooms. The assessor objects to there being only an open iron railing between adjoining balconies, probably because the water-closet doors face each other; but, on the other hand, it has a great advantage over a solid wall in affording more light and air. The two-roomed dwellings are planned with equal simplicity and care in other respects, but it was apparently found impossible to make the balcony anything more than the usual open passage. Some objection might be taken on the score of economy of space to the long, narrow shape of the living rooms (16 ft. by 10 ft.) in both classes, but they are, after all, good, useful rooms, and the defect cannot reasonably be allowed to outweigh the other excellencies of the plan. The architects have allowed themselves one little extravagance in the shape of tile hearths to all the rooms. The elevations show quite an architectural treatment, very different from the usual commonplace, institution-like aspect of block dwellings. One's pleasure in them is somewhat marred on recognising that the party-wall runs up behind the middle of the unnecessary gable, and across the window shown in it; and we are probably still far from the day when such magnificent porches can be considered reasonable adjuncts to buildings erected with a view to strict economy; but both are mere incidents easily modified; the banishment of the fidgety little stripes of red bricks, the concrete lintels with their huge chamfers or roll mouldings, the heavy string courses, and all the coarse commonplaces associated in the mind with such structures, is much to be thankful for. - continues with review of other entries [Builder 15 April 1899 page 359-360]

LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL MODEL DWELLINGS FOR THE MILLBANK SITE - We publish this week the plans of Messrs. Spalding & Cross, who obtained the first premium in the competition recently instituted by thc London County Council for the best designs for model dwellings, or dwellings for the poorer class, on their site at Millbank. The following particulars are extracted from the architects' report sent in with the drawings :—

 "In order to ensure the free circulation of air, in view of the fact that the site may be, at any future time, practically enclosed on two sides by lofty neighbouring buildings, it has been found advisable to place the tenements in two distinct blocks of buildings, five stories in height, with their lines offrontages abutting respectively on Earl-street and the vacant land, the surplus portion of the site beingutilised as a courtyard or recreation ground. A centrally-placed cottage building for the supply of hot water and for clothes drying has been provided, and also a spacious workshop or bicycle store. The larger block of dwellings, fronting Earl-street, contains the following accommodation, viz.

•   Five two-roomed tenements.
•     Thirty-three-roomed tenements.
•      The smaller block of dwellings, fronting the vacant  land at the eastern boundary Of the site, contains    (No. 20) two-roomed tenements.

The following detailed description of the general arrangement and construction applies equally to both two-roomed and three-roomed tenements. - Each tenement is approached by means of the general staircase, from the landing of which access is obtained to the private entrance lobbies of the various self-contained tenements, consisting of a living room, having a floor area of not less than 160 ft. superficial, overlooking the street and fitted with a dresser, with two shelves, pot-board and cupboard, and a self-setting range for an open or close fire. A bedroom, or bedrooms, having a minimum floor area of 106 ft. superficial, fitted with a hanging cupboard for clothes and a mantel register stove. A scullery, overlooking the courtyard and disconnected from the living and bedrooms by the ventilated entrance-lobby and the adjoining balcony, containing a floor area of not less than 45 ft. superficial, and fitted with a stoneware sink, a draining-board, a plate-rack, a six-gallons copper and an open cottage range, so that, if thought desirable, the scullery could be used as a kitchen. The scullery, the water-closet, the galvanised iron Coal-box, and food store, the dust-pails, etc. are all accessible from the balcony, to enable any necessary sanitary inspection or replenishment of stores to be made without disturbing the privacy of the inmates and to allow of any household washing and clothes drying being carried on without discomfort.

 Construction - The buildings generally would be constructed of fire-resisting materials—all the wallsbeing of brick, and the floors formed throughout with steel joists filled in with coke breeze concrete.The roofs would be boarded and felted and covered with green slates. All external walls would be faced with Lawrence's red facing bricks above a high dado of salt glazed bricks. Light red terra-cotta would be used for the copings to the gables, the window cills, and the front doorways, etc. The walls of the staircases, sculleries, and water-closets would be faced with salt-glazed bricks throughout. The walls of the entrance lobbies, living rooms, and bedrooms would be plastered, in the cases of the lobbies and living rooms, above the dado, which would be of salt-glazed brick. The staircases, balconies, &c., would be of granolithic. The window balconies would have wrought-iron flower- guards, and the yard balconies wrought-iron fence rails as shown upon the drawings. The water-closets would be fitted with the 'Oatley' patent overflow soil and anti-siphonage pipe junction, so that should one water-closet become blocked, the others would not be put out of action or the water- closets at a lower level flooded. The rain-water pipes and sink wastes would discharge into gullies having cleaning caps to enable all short lengths of drains to be cleaned. The general drainage arrangements are planned in accordance with the revised by-laws proposed to be made by the Council. The whole of the water used would be stored in Alexander's patent self-cleansing air-tight cisterns placed in the roof-space immediately over the stair-cases, and easily accessible. The arrangements suggested for the general supply of hot water and for clothes drying are clearly indicated on drawing No. 2. The general dust-bins would be of galvanised iron." [Builder 6 May 1889 page 446]

Reference        Builder 18 March 1899 page 275
Reference        Builder 15 April 1899 page 359-360
Reference        Builder 6 May 1889 page 446 with plans and elevations