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Comprehensive Projects for Central London

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Planning London for the Post-War Era 1945-1960

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Abstract

The examination of the features of the various reconstruction projects of comprehensive character, which were implemented in the Central London area mainly in the 1950s, is the object of this chapter. The suggested proposals for rebuilding the Comprehensive Development Areas having central use character, that is, in the projects of St Paul’s Precinct and Barbican, which are included in the boundaries of City of London, as well as in South Bank and Elephant and Castle , which belong to the poorer southern part of London’s central district to the south of the Thames are analysed. The latter reminds us of the unsuccessful endeavours of the post-war architects and planners to connect sufficiently the “poorer” south and the “richer” north parts of Central London, on the two banks of the Thames.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Gerald Barry was a leading Labour politician and one of the founding members of the Political and Economic Planning group (Hollow 2012, p. 576).

  2. 2.

    The following were members: Misha Black , Central Office of Information, Hugh Casson, Director of Architecture, Town Planning and Building Research, Ian Cox , Director of Science and Technology, James Gardner, James Holland , Central Office of Information, Dudley Ryder , Council of Industrial Design and Ralph Tubbs (Anonymous 1948b, p. 374).

  3. 3.

    Zone 1 included the Shot Tower, which was the most easily and quickly transformed from its exhibition use into an attractive public open space and whose existing character should, if was recommended, be kept (PRO file HLG 71/1574 (1951) “London County Council, South Bank Site…”: 4).

  4. 4.

    Zone 2 laid between Belvedere Road and York Road downstream of Hungerford Bridge, and although not directly associated with riverside views, had important visual links with the Thames and the Royal Festival Hall; it was suggested that the existing layout and type of structure of this zone gave it the opportunity to be treated in part as an extension of the riverside promenade in the form of gardens, bandstand and terraces, and in part for commercial use (PRO file HLG 71/1574 1951 “London County Council, South Bank Site…”: 4–5).

  5. 5.

    Zone 3 had the probability that it would be taken over by British European Airways, with its bus and car parks and general circulation areas (PRO file HLG 71/1574 1951 “London County Council, South Bank Site…”: 5).

  6. 6.

    In zone 4 they had assumed that the whole of this area was required by the Ministry of Works for building operations, with access from Belvedere Road (PRO file HLG 71/1574 1951 “London County Council, South Bank Site…”: 5).

  7. 7.

    Zone 5 although it was a small area lying outside the Exhibition boundaries was, it was suggested, to be the subject of a separate detailed recommendation (PRO file HLG 71/1574 1951 “London County Council, South Bank Site…”: 5).

  8. 8.

    The building was designed by Howard Robertson , who was one of the team of designers of the UN Secretariat, the glass-sided slab of offices in New York, which set a standard for post-war office building (Anonymous 1956b, p. 466).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technical University of Crete, Athens, Greece

    Emmanuel V. Marmaras

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  1. Emmanuel V. Marmaras
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Correspondence to Emmanuel V. Marmaras .

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Marmaras, E.V. (2015). Comprehensive Projects for Central London. In: Planning London for the Post-War Era 1945-1960. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07647-8_14

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