FLATS OF THE FUTURE

Snt,—John Armitage, in his article, " The Family House," speaks of a stevedore saying " We all want a little house and a bit of garden," and " We all hate these flats." Here, we are told, is the main objection to flats. People don't like them and do not want to live in them. " Huge blocks of flats have been a failure." Have they? Are there any huge blocks of flats? There have been large numbers of flat-blocks consisting of five storeys, spread over concrete areas, and lacking many of the amenities of the slum dwellings which they replace. I know of some recently completed blocks in the pseudo- Georgian manner, set within 3o or 4o feet of each other; all balcony- access (access to flats past the backs of others); five storeyed; they have no lifts; at the base is a small asphalted area; a green space en- closed by six-foot railings; and a children's playground enclosed in the same manner. Too long have we suffered from the tenement-concept of flats. The authorities have substituted vertical for horizontal slums.

There is no reliable data on the preferences of slum dwellers (Mass Observation please note), though I believe that a body of students, carrying out housing-research, conducted a door-to-door survey in which it was found that 6o per cent. of the people would prefer to live in flats and the remainder in terrace or other housing. The complete chaos resulting from the " little house and bit of garden " School of Planning is seen in any of our newly developed suburbs, providing the conditions which Mr. Armitage deplores.

The evil of one-class housing is not denied by anyone, neither are the evils of bad planning; lack of open space and sunlight; lack of communal facilities; smoke pollution (in which the chief miscreant is the domestic fire, not the factory chimney); and the drudgery of the housewife. What then is the solution? Flats can be and have been made habitable, and the ideal solution appears to be: provision of ten-storeyed blocks (with consequent fieeing of intervening space); a small number of terrace-houses for people with older children; pro- vision in certain cases of two-storeyed blocks for older people; and one-roomed " bachelor " flats. Too often the authorities have con- centrated on one type of housing, not realising that several types are essential. The above arrangements, besides giving people what they need, would result in the possibility of an infinite number of architectural variations where every part would be related to a magni- ficent whole. Town-planning would be an expression of the spirit, not a stultified series of by-laws.

Towards this end, a minimum specification for flats should be evolved, and the following ten points are worthy of consideration : I. All flat blocks (other than for aged people) to be ten storeys in height, and have a minimum spacing, or light-interference- angle (angle between horizontal and line drawn from the base of one block to the top _if next) of 20°.

a. All blocks to be provided with lifts (economical for ten storeys, not for four).

3. All blocks to have central heating and hot water.

4. Provision of large private balconies.

5. Abolition of balcony-access, save for one-room flat-blocks.

6. Adequate sound-insulation between flats and rooms.

7. Provision of ground-floor storage for prams, bicycles, &c.

8. Provision of private recessed drying balconies planned in conjunction with kitchens.

9. Provision of communal buildings; schools, clinics, recre- ation-rooms and restaurants.

to. Provision of allotments.

Rebuilding on the above lines, plus a certain amount of terrace- housing, would sufficiently clear the ground, to enable the blocks to be set in a pleasant greenness, instead of the usual parade-ground atmosphere. Today, ten-storey blocks are prohibited by the L.C.C.'s own regulations, and terrace-building in London is not allowed.

What will be needed is a progressive policy of post-war rehousing

in which architects, sociologists and economists can co-operate, pro- ducing flats, not barracks, but first-class housing. The rest of Mr. Armitage's article cannot be refuted by anyone but the facilities of which he speaks can only be provided if the above system of housing