Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 28/11/2011

TQ 5290
940/3/10007

HEATH DRIVE, Gidea Park
No. 64

II

House. 1933-4 by Francis Skinner and Tecton for Pell and Clayton Ltd. Reinforced concrete, painted and with some board marking; flat roof. 'L'-shaped plan with principal rooms set in wing towards the garden, with kitchen, original maid's room and garage overlooking the street. Large roof terrace on this elevation. The front elevation, facing north-east, is thus simple, with first floor blind except for opening at level on to this terrace. Below, the entrance door under porch, with metal windows to either side and ventilators installed in 2002. The principal entrance at corner, with original porch now infilled with late C20 door. Staircase windows and horizontal strip, lighting the principal bathroom, complete the external fenestration. All the principal windows face into the garden, making the design an exceptionally private one. The original steel windows survive, and there is much use of steel for external staircase balustrades and balconies. Large south-facing windows with opening casements and toplights to living room and large casements to bedrooms. Through door to garden; added room on part of terrace treated sympathetically and without altering composition seen from street. Truncated terrace reached by external stair from garden with steel balustrade. Interior retains original staircase with moulded concrete balustrade and steel handrail.
Tecton was the pioneering firm of modern architects established by Berthold Lubetkin and six young Architectural Association graduates in 1931-2. This was among their first works. No. 64 Heath Drive was a first-prize-winning entry in the Gidea Park Modern Homes Exhibition held in July-August 1934. It remains a sophisticated, intelligent design, providing optimum levels of privacy and natural light.
Sources: Architects' Journal, 6 September 1934, pp. 335-7.
John Allan, Berthold Lubetkin - Architecture and the Tradition of Progress, 1992, pp. 170-72.

Listing NGR: TQ5207790639

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27082583

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

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)