Alexandra Road is a huge and complex social housing project located in the northwest of London near Swiss Cottage Underground Station. Laying out in 6.47 hectares site, this estate consists of three blocks of housing, a special school, a community center, and open green spaces designed by British architect Neave Brown (1929-2018) from 1966 to 1970. The main entrance on the west side of the estate is located in the famous Abbey Road at the Metropolitan Borough of Camden. Upon its completion in 1979, the property won the postwar protection grade-II in 1993 and gained its recognition as one of the most prominent postwar housing ever produced in England since the Second World War. The most well-known part of this design is the 350-meters-long pedestrian walkaway following the curve of the rail line that forms a border in the north of the site. This walkway is elevated above the ground which creates a car-free environment.
The design emphasizes a low-rise high-density housing with re-interpretation of the terraced housing which was widely used in London around the 19th century. As a result, a large-scale housing block in ‘ziggurat’ formation, with 520 dwellings, was covered in concrete highlighting the Brutalist architecture. The estate is surrounded by beautiful parks designed by landscape architect Janet Jack which later got revamped in 2013 and is now open for the public, providing an oasis in a built-up area of inner London. Besides being immensely popular among filmmakers who use the estates as the filming set, Alexandra Road is also widely popular by architects and planners who want to see one of the greatest council housing projects in the 20th century. Alexandra Road Estate shows an integrated design from both spatial and architectural elements which marks out not only as an exemplary of 1970s architectural ambition but also as the rise of modern planning in Britain.
How to get to the next object:
PUBLIC TRANSPORT (app. 35 minutes)
- Walk to South Hampstead Station Loudoun Road (Stop L)
- From there, take bus 31 to Westbourne Park (Stop B)
- From Westbourne Park Station, take Hammersmith & City lane to Latimer Road
- Walk to Hurstway Walk, Notting Hill
PRIVATE TRANSPORT: app. 20 minutes
