Published: 02 February 2012
by DAN CARRIER

TWO celebrated Modernist buildings in Belsize Park have been saved from demolition after a Whitehall planning inspector ruled their owners should not be allowed to build bigger homes in their place.

The steel and glass houses, in Belsize Park Gardens, were built in the 1970s by architects Robin Spencer and Robin Webster for their families.

They were feted by architecture journals and designers around the world for their use of materials and their concept of marrying indoor with outdoor spaces.

The current owners, former Economist editor Bill Emmott and his neighbour Stephen Hall, wanted to replace them with  larger houses modelled on other Victorian buildings in the street.

But Camden Council’s planning committee dismissed the proposals and their decision was upheld this week by a planning inspector.

Mr Webster, who now runs a practice in Glasgow, said he was relieved to hear his work had been safeguarded.

He recalled buying the land – part of the back garden of a home called Avenue House – in 1978 from the Church of England.

He and Mr Spencer paid around £60,000. Mr Webster recalled the Town Hall planning team’s enthusiasm for the project.

He said: “They liked the fact you could not see the scheme.

It gave the road breathing space.

“You could see the trees in the garden behind. It broke up the run of homes.”

Spencer and Webster wanted to use lightweight materials and create a low-level, flexible house with open-plan rooms.

“Our idea was to create two courtyard houses with a series of rooms, some of which were roofed and some not, so that there was easy movement between inside and outside,” said Mr Spencer.

“We were influenced by [German architect and designer] Mies van der Rohe, although the structure was lighter and more like the ‘Case Study’ houses in California, by Craig Ellwood and Raphael Sorriano.

“We were building courtyard housing and we wanted to do something similar to live in ourselves. We could have made a lot of money if we’d built a larger home with flats, but that was not what we were seeking to do.

“The house created a sunny microclimate in the paved courtyard that was very warm – rather Mediterranean, in fact, and we grew fig trees and other southern European plants there.

“The concept meant you could have large sliding doors in place of solid walls and, when the weather was nice, have an open-plan home with outdoor space closely connected to the interiors.”

As well as making a family home, they also wanted the building to be a showcase for their work, displaying what Modernist homes in a Victorian street could look like.

Mr Spencer said: “There was already a tradition in Hampstead for Modernist homes, and we wanted to build something people would think about and show it was possible to live in a different way.”

When the application was originally considered, Mr Emmott insisted the replacement homes would add to Belsize Park’s streetscene.

He said: “The DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) rejected listing in November, and the current buildings, hidden from the street and viewable only as a pair of ugly roofs, make no contribution to the conservation area.

“Our proposed new houses have been designed, with guidance from Camden’s planning officers, to fit in beautifully with this magnificent street – they will be modern interpretations of the grand 19th-century stucco buildings alongside.

“As such, future generations of residents will be proud to have them in this lovely area.”