Flat for sale in Rowley Way, London NW8

Architecture & Interior

Momentarily stepping back into the mid 60s, a brutalist dream beckons as you stroll down Rowley Way.

Neave Brown, the borough architect responsible for a string of unique social housing projects throughout metropolitan Camden, built this estate specifically as a place to live, not just exist.

This particular mid-level one bedroom flat has one of the best terraces, south facing, not overlooked. They are generous with space and light. That was Brown’s vision.

As you enter, wood hues welcome you. The whole flat is cleverly based on a square design as you walk around, flowing from room to room.

A wide reception room complete with usm Hallar sideboard & desk bureau greet you, with natural light from the floor to ceiling terrace doors flooding the space.

Around the corner, your bedroom naturally meanders off from the lounge. A ‘hidden’ wall can slid across for when you go to sleep.

Storage aplenty to the rear of the bedroom, a clever translucent light well provides a great space to put a plant or vase.

Leading through to your bathroom, there is a bath with overhead shower and separate toilet, all finished in neutral white tiling.

Lastly, the kitchen is offset either side with all the original fixtures, fittings & countertops. It is a brilliant example of quality products standing the test of time.

Outside

The Alexandra & Ainsworth ‘Rowley Way’ estate has a unique feel to it; a vibrant mix of locals, professionals and families. You get to know your neighbours quickly and people look out for each other in the old fashioned way.

In The neighbourhood

Located close South Hampstead, Swiss Cottage & Finchley Road, you are spoilt for choice for all amenities. Regents Park is your best local park, a brisk 20 minute walk away through St John’s Wood.

Local favourite restaurants include Fiddie’s, an Italian with delicious wood-fired pizza, and Arches Wine Bar for British fare and an extensive wine menu. Best local pubs include The Clifton, a former hunting lodge & The Priory Tavern, a great local ale house. A string of supermarkets also line Finchley Road, with Waitrose, M&S & Sainsbury’s all close by.

Transport and connections

Transport options are at a premium. South Hampstead overground is minutes away connecting to Euston in one stop & further West towards Wembley. Swiss Cottage tube is five minute walk, linking with the Jubilee Line to the city, and Finchley Road station is 10 minutes away and connects the Metropolitan Line as well. A raft of buses depart from Finchley Road taking you to the heart of the city.

History

A previous blog has been written about the estate, you can read it here:

In the midst of the swinging 60s, Neave Brown, the architect of Rowley Way in the borough of Camden, had a vision for an estate as “a magical moment for English housing”.

Formed in 1964 after the collapse of the London County Council, Camden was the third richest London borough in terms of rateable value. The Labour council, aware it had to build more homes, took centre stage for the creative housing boom of the era. In fact, some of the UK’s most ambitious and exciting local authority housing projects have been built in the borough.

The council employed a team centred around Neave Brown and led by Sydney Cook. As borough architects, they rejected the cheaply made concrete high-rise model that most councils were adopting to save money. Instead, they chose to reignite the values of terraced housing, giving each home its own front door and outside space with (on a good day) a blue sky view. Inspired in part by Royal Crescent in Bath), the estate was designed to follow the curve of the adjacent railway.

Unbelievable claims (and costs)

Before the estate was constructed, Alexandra Road was home to around 600 decaying Victorian Villas. Camden had scheduled them for demolition, but local residents mounted tough opposition to the initial redevelopment plan, which proposed three 14-storey tower blocks. This scared off potential developers and ended with the council buying the 13.5-acre site.

The basic design of Neave Brown’s estate, similar to what we see today, met resolute opposition from Camden’s planning department. Even though Brown has proposed a scheme that far exceeded Camden’s target of 150 people per acre, they simply didn’t his confidence that he could achieve a population density of 210 people per acre with a low-rise development.

Ironically, it was the council’s short period under Conservative control between 1968 and 1971 that saw planning permission being granted, and a budget of £7.15 million (£49 million in today’s money) was set. Naturally, unexpected problems hit, and the eventual cost ballooned to £21 million (£132.5 million today).

One hurdle was the planned pedestrianisation of the original Alexandra Road, which also faced tough local opposition and was only granted permission after a public enquiry in 1972. Once work got underway, a layer of soft clay was discovered, causing severe foundation problems, compounded by a burst water main and a shortage of materials and labour.

The Rowley Way revolution cometh

Unsurprisingly, the rising cost of the development was highly criticised. In 1978, Ken Livingstone, then chair of Camden’s Housing Committee, ordered a public enquiry to investigate the build and mitigate the backlash towards the Labour Party. Criticisms were levied at the management of the project alongside excessive architects’ fees. Such was the furore that Neave Brown never worked again in the UK.

While the spiralling costs were a major issue, they also reflect the high quality of materials used that give Rowley Way such longevity. The entire estate was constructed off-site in reinforced concrete, with timber joinery framing the edges, front and rear. To combat worried about it being too stark, large amounts of greenery were planted throughout the estate. One critic coined the finished design as the ‘hanging gardens of Camden’, blissfully unaware that it’s more of a compliment!

Inside, the apartments had different designs for families and couples. All have bedrooms to either the rear or on lower levels, and every home has a proper terrace with glazed sliding doors. The controversial heating system is still revolutionary today – instead of radiators, the party walls are heated internally, leaving more wall space for furniture.

In total, 520 dwellings were built for 1660 people.



Material Information

• Property construction - Concrete
• Utilities - Gas, Electric, Water
• Electricity supply - edf Energy
• Water supply - Thames Water
• Sewerage - Mains connected
• Broadband - Standard download speed: 16 Mbps, upload speed: 1Mbps(superfast ds: 57Mbps, us: 13Mbps, Ultrafast not available) (source:ofcom)
• Mobile signal/coverage - Likely good external coverage for most major networks(All networks linked to lower interior data coverage apart from O2 which is good)
• Restrictions - Estate is Grade II Listed - listing no 1130403
• Planning - Major works planned to renewal the heating system and double glazing.
• Flood risk - Medium (standard) risk of surface flooding on terrace, low to no risk of any other type of flooding