Martin Crowley (b. 1936) designed the house at Harfield
Gardens for his own occupation in 1979, and it was built
a year later. Echoing the famous words of Le Corbusier,
Crowley has said in a recent interview that the house
was built "as a machine for living in".

Crowley studied architecture at what is now Kingston
University, where he closely studied the work of the
great European Modernists, including Le Corbusier and
Mies Van der Rohe.

The house at Harfield Gardens is based on a rational
modular system (the 3 bedrooms and the kitchen are all
of a similar size) and originally was intended to have
two storeys. Indeed, planning permission was granted
for an extra storey and the house is structurally composed
to make this addition a relatively simple one.

The roof and floor of the house are insulated, with
the construction of the roof being of particular interest.
With brick on the exterior, it is what is now known
as an 'inverted roof'. At the time of building
this was an entirely radical method of construction,
although it has subsequently become quite common. Developed
by the Dow Chemical Company, a firm that Crowley had
worked for as a consultant, the 'inverted roof'
is still in place at Harfield Gardens and is still highly
effective.

Now based in France, Crowley worked extensively throughout
his career with the architect Robin Moore Ede. They
collaborated on numerous commercial projects including
an office block at 100 Piccadilly and the renovation
of the Curzon cinema in Mayfair. Later on in his career
Crowley also assisted the renowned architect Alan Camp.

When designing the house, Crowley joined forces with
the celebrated engineer Sam Price, who later worked
on private residences by architects including Adjaye
Associates, Caruso St John, Niall McLaughlin, Sarah
Wigglesworth and Jeremy Till, Seth Stein and Tony Fretton.