Marshworth:Milton Keynes

Substantial Construction – Brand insists that a basic requirement for a building to ‘learn’, and to be rewarded with a long life, is that its core construction is strong; so that it will absorb changes. Here all the walls, internal as well as external, are solid; brick or breeze-block. Accordingly, the solidity of these bricks is not in question, since those who have chosen to add a further storey have not even had to reinforce their existing foundations! The price to be paid for the trendy ‘white’ brick finish is that, made in concrete (anecdotally, according to locals, because the three day week experienced by the Heath government had resulted in supplies of the clay ones drying up), the colour of  these has now weathered to a pale grey. This means that matching them with the clay versions, which are now also going out of supply, is proving to be difficult. On the other hand, this is easily solved by painting the exterior. But the potential longevity of the bungalows, possibly running into centuries rather than the decades of modern houses, is not in question. In fact this may be an advantage which the original design, based on timber framing and glass walls, might not have provided!

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Last modified: 01/26/06