Description

TQ 22 73 WANDSWORTH, LB WANBOROUGH DRIVE
(west side)

1207/11/10061 Hindhead Point

GV II

Point block of 43 flats. 1952-5 by London County Council Architect's Department Housing Division; Rosemary Stjernstedt Architect in Charge, A W Cleeve Barr and Oliver Cox job architects. Ove Arup and Partners engineers. In-situ reinforced concrete frame, clad in grey 'clinker block' brickwork, with some expression of the concrete floors as bands in the composition. Flat roof with projecting service tower expressed as rounded sculptural form. Three flats on ground floor, four oneach upper floor (one 1-bedroom and three 2-bedroom units) set in corners of picturesquely asymmetrical plan, with partially projecting balconies at corners. Lift lobby runs through centre of building, with pair of lifts serving alternate floors and two escape staircases, once brightly coloured. Ground floor partially set back and painted, with storerooms (initially also a laundry) which retain their original galvanised steel fenestration, as do the staircases. Window to flats renewed in UPVC-coated aluminium within original openings and to similar pattern (some mullions eliminated). Balconies with original panelled fronts. Each block denoted by different pattern tilework at entrance formed of white and two varieties of black and white speckled tiles to give illusion of contrasting grey and near-black; the pattern at Hindhead Point of squares set in grey surrounds, continued inside entrance hall where there are also grey marble tiles. Original sign made of tiles.
The point blocks at Alton East were the first public housing in Britain to have mechanically-ventilated lavatories and bathrooms, and the first high housing to be centrally heated. The interiors of the flats not of special interest except for their planning.
The LCC's earlier experiments with point block design had been to expensive, later variants were more mechanical; these are included as the best examples of their pioneering work in designing groups of tall flats. The name point block was coined by the Alton East team and is derived from the Swedish 'punkthus' a source of their inspiration. Another was the English housing tradition, which led to their use of brick, respect for earlier LCC work nearby and an interest in what prospective tenants wanted. Alton East is remarkable for its picturesque massing, which maximises its sloping site and the retention and enhancement of Victorian planting from the gardens to villas previously there, by grouping the points at the top of the rise (where they also shield traffic noise) and setting the contrasting red-brick houses and maisonettes round them. It epitomises the humanist tradition in post-war British architecture.

Listing NGR: TQ2267973323

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26538484

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)