Architecture as art - Harlow New Town

It's hard to imagine how horribly crowded, dirty and destroyed much of London's housing stock was after World War II. Victorian housing stocks were depleted from the bombs, and lots of people just didn't have anywhere to go.

Luckily, the government at the time was proactive about dealing with this housing crisis (ahem), and pushed ahead with building a series of new towns in a belt around London.

One of these was Harlow New Town, the masterplan of which was drawn up in 1947 by Sir Frederick Gibberd. He brought on a number of leading architects to design individual districts including Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew.

Gibberd himself designed The Lawn, the country's first high-rise tower block, now grade II listed.

We came to Harlow New Town by train from Liverpool Street Station and walked to the town centre via a dual carriageway and a giant Sainsburys supermarket.

This square was once the country's only pedestrianised precinct. Today it's pretty bleak. There's a playground and some giant flower pots, surrounded by shop units - mostly empty. 

Walking past the car park and through an underpass we emerged next to The Lawn tower block. Beyond it is one of the residential sectors of the new town. You can imagine it looking all new and exciting, back in the 1940s.

Overall, it's stood the test of time. Gardens and houses look well taken care of, and the whole area has a nice feel to it.

There are some interesting designs, like these houses with angled front doors.

And here's an art-deco inspired facade (well, house number).

You can't go to Harlow New Town without seeing a sculpture. There are more than 100 scattered throughout the town, all outside. In fact, thinking about it now, those giant plant pots may be one such example.

Gibberd set up the Harlow Art Trust in 1953 to look after the sculptures, including pieces by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Auguste Rodin.

I'm not sure which ones we saw, but there was a beautiful park we strolled through on our way back to the train station.

There's a sculpture

In parts the tradition of employing interesting architects continues today. Gibbert's original masterplan included greenfield sites, earmarked for future development. Earlier this year a housing development at one of these was completed, designed by Alison Brooks Architects.

 Finally, here's a video of what life was in Harlow New Town, back in the day. It's a glorious watch.