This 1975 film from Council of Europe was made for the 1975 Year of European Architectural Heritage, it explores the neighbourhood we are very lucky to have lived in since moving to London last year. What is perhaps most remarkable about this film is just how little has changed in the 45 years since it was made. The streets and houses are for the most part identical thanks to the very active management and protection of the suburb by the Suburb Trust and its Residents Association.
Before we moved here we’d never heard of this part of London, or of this chapter in the Garden Suburb movement, but having lived here through a period in which the home has become ever more important, we’ve felt very grateful for the abundance of nature, the lack of noise, and the walkability of this little idyll north of Hampstead Heath. The film does a good job in pointing out some unexpected influences in the design of the buildings, for example the German walled towns - A connection I had not made.
Published on 3 June 2021 – Video – London – Hampstead Garden Suburb – Architecture