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“A stellar example of Segal’s architecture of simplicity, adaptability and personality”
Completed in 1980, this three-bedroom house forms part of a pioneering scheme of self-build houses overseen by the celebrated architect Walter Segal. It sits opposite leafy Sydenham Wells Park and is bookended by lawns studded by mature sycamore trees. Arranged on a north-south axis, the house receives an excellent quality of light throughout the day through its many wide windows. It has a beautiful, south-facing rear garden that receives light all day.
Longton Avenue II
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History
Walter Segal
Walter Segal was a visionary architect who was born in Germany and grew up in Switzerland, but spent most of his working life in the UK. One of the most fascinating figures of late 20th-century architecture, he was a modernist who maintained an interest in traditional building techniques.
Segal trained in Berlin, a city that was at the forefront of modernism, and moved to London in 1936. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that he began to gain recognition for his ideas and methods. Today, Segal’s reputation continues to rise – not least because of his environmentally friendly approach to building.
Lewisham Council Scheme
The scheme was completed in 1980, and consists of 14 houses, including this one, on Longton Avenue, Ormanton Road, Elstree Hill and Segal Close. A second scheme of thirteen two-storey houses followed, situated on a steeply sloping site now known as Walters Way. Today, there are over 200 Segal homes in the UK.
Jon Broome, co-architect for the developments in Lewisham, detailed their construction process for an article in The Architects’ Journal of November 1986. It describes the implications of the Segal Method: "It questions the assumptions about how buildings, not just houses, are designed; how buildings, not just timber ones, are built; and how buildings, particularly houses, are related to their user."
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