Why did London stop building the mighty mansion block?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- London's mansion blocks were an iconic solution to the population boom in the 1800s, and they continue to be a memorable and enduring emblem of London's architectural history. The city's numbers are not showing signs of slowing, and yet, our focus has turned away from mansion blocks to towering residential skyscrapers.
In this video, we're uncovering why developers hesitate to replicate the elegance of mansion blocks today, and more importantly, how the rushed construction of these new builds is setting a dangerous precedent for housing efforts. But it's not all doom and gloom! Some ambitious architects have managed to marry the best of the old and new - say hello to the modern mansion blocks.
Massive thanks to Karin Templin's 'At Home in London: The Mansion Block' for guiding our research, and also to the NLA and Solomon's Passage on X for the footage.
all views are of Oli's, and not representative of Resi
What’s more appalling is most modern apartment bathrooms are designed without windows for natural sunlight.
Yeeeeeees I've always noticed this. Why would you not include a window ? Makes no sense to me
@@sincerelylavie9960 They have to cram in everything into a given square footage. The architecture of a building dictates the layout of an apartment.
@@sincerelylavie9960 Because then you can put the bathroom anywhere. The thinking is that as you don't spend a lot of time in the bathroom you don't need a window. I hate it and think it's just nasty. I've turned down "nice" flats because they didn't have a window in the bathroom. I think it's unhygienic actually.
@@TheFakeyCakeMaker You can put in ventilation systems in place. They take condensation and smell out of the bathroom.
Disagree, rather have the bathroom in the middle of the appartment and have more windows in basically any other room.
We desperately need modern apartment buildings (neither council blocks nor terraced houses) with smart 40m-60m apartments - as they have in Spain, Portugal, Korea, Japan. And we're starting to get that in Manchester/Liverpool/Birmingham, but in London or Bristol there's so little for single professionals/couples. What 35 year old honestly wants to live in a house share.
these blocky square apartment blocks are just dystopian
Agreed, mate. You should see what Leeds looks like today.
The problem with modern mansion blocks is that they cost £695,000 and not £69,500.
I used to live in the York Mansions block on Prince of Wales Drive in Battersea. I was working around the corner for The Observer newspaper at the time and the flat was massive with large well proportioned rooms. I would recommend them to anyone
I was looking at one a few months ago. Very desirable, but nearly 2 million for a 3 bedroom is a bit pricey.
@@summerrr1 They usually have very long lease or share of freehold though.
I lived in a Mansion Block in West Kensington ,London in the mid 1980s . The owner rented out some of her bedrooms to tenants and we all shared the kitchen and bathroom. It was even so a lovely place .These modern developments are soulless!
Nice! How much were you paying back then?
Great video, love traditional mansion blocks. I don't think the modern mansion block in Peckham is great example through. No ornate detailing and bizarre head height horizontal windows for no reason whatsoever. People love walking down traditional mansion block streets, but I cant imagine people would feel the same walking past the Peckham one.
I would not call that a mansion block at all. They are just tower blocks to me.
Mordern interior + traditional exterior is the dream
hi
Definitely!
That’s why it’s harder for older people to leave their period properties I’m not talking about London period properties. We live in a 200 yr old badly insulated house, and all we would be able to get if we downsized with you, one bedroom tiny tiny flat. Yes, we would be warmer, but we would go mad.
I work in the resi construction industry as a structural engineer and while I agree that the ornate facades on Victorian era builds are more visually appealing, I think the oppressive, almost dystopic feeling we get from new build inner city apartment blocks primarily comes from the permitted building height and surrounding scenery. You will not find a Victorian era housing block above 5 storeys tall, and the top storey will always be visually inset. Combine this with the wider streets on which they reside, often with large tree lined frontages overlooking park land, and you create a scene which hugely contrasts with new builds, which are typically built on relatively cramped plots of land, 8+ storeys tall with narrow streets diving them. You could use Victorian façade styling for these blocks, but if built to the same height within the same landscape I still think the overall scene would feel oppressive.
This is not a defense of new builds or the hurried nature of their construction, but I do think people tend to put too much weight on façade detailing as a simple fix. If you don't build on suitable plots of land you're doomed to fail when it comes to designing fulfilling living spaces.
There is no interest in designing fulfilling living spaces. They don't care as long as people are stupid enough to buy or rent them.
That "modern" mansion block is HIDEOUS.
I would not call any new-builts "mansion blocks" - they are just tower blocks, built for maximum profit with very little charm or character and usually shoddily built. True mansion blocks are buildings from the Victorian or Edwardian eras with lateral flats full of period features, high ceilings, graceful layouts and usually a separate kitchen. They normally have windows in every room, including bathrooms, and some have maids or staff rooms. They were built for well-to-do upper middle class families who no longer could afford or wanted country piles after the industrial revolution - the people who used to go into service to work at these country piles could now get jobs in the factories. Many of the mansion blocks are still in excellent working order (of course a lot of these have gone through upgrading of plumbing and electricals) and a lot of them have access to private garden squares for the residents. Lucky are the people who own a flat in one of them.
Totally agree. Most of them are hideous, and unfortunately, they are popping up absolutely everywhere.
Talking about the one at 420? I really like it
It looks like a fortress, definitely an ew from me
Super video! Thank you for taking the time to make it and share!
In France we have the same problem. In 1960s and '70s they started to build a LOT of big, horrible stuff without understand that quantity is not better that quality. In the last months sone terraces are fallen in Cannes, Antibes..(south of France)So disappointing
I use to live on the top floor corner flat of Ashworth mansions in Maida Vale ( I suppose you could call it a penthouse ) Loved everything about that flat, especially the balcony views over Maida Vale and the communal gardens. So much space and light too. Couldn't afford to live there now though, the rents for those places have absolutely skyrocketed. Very classy place to live though.
I'm not too far from there, I've seen the Mansion flats in Maida Vale... absolutely beautiful looking.
I live in a tiny apartment in a 1960s inner-city building, before that an even tinier 6th-floor, no elevator 1840s building - I would NEVER move into one of those soulless, low-quality new buildings in lifeless areas (even when centrally located because bad planning). NEVER. I get depressed just looking at them.
I love how entertaining you are, especially the “meal deal” touch surrounded by the super expensive blocks of flats is great hint
New builds are small and depressing for the most part. They are more akin to student accommodation than homes for adults.
Loving his “no shade” reference nestled in there, simultaneously, against a very informative and entertaining video. Definitely subscribing.
Underrated channel!
We must demand a return to beauty, sanity, and humanity.
Loving the new media content you are making. Great content
The world's first mansion blocks appeared in London's Maida Vale. One would have thought it would have been Paris or Vienna. They were built in that location, in speculation for a giant rail terminus to be built nearby. Sadly this wasn't to be!
West of London's Victoria Street is probably London's highest concentration of them, especially around Ambrosden Avenue and Francis Street.
Those modern mid to highrise building are important in providing housing at scale. Landcost is a massiv issue.
(It is lucrative to at some point building cost almost don't change for building 18 or 24 floors)
You can clearly see the difference from those recent towers to those build innthe 1960 and 1970s like build in thamesmead or Ronan Point in Newham. Back the were prefab concrete slaps that were often build really badly.
Towers had often been build not allined to a grid but rather placed in some lose greenspace.
Councils should pre-approve 10 different syles of mansion blocks with variations of colour/cosmetic features. Cut all taxes/development fees, etc on them. Make them incredibly economically viable or at least competitive with the other options. Increase taxes on building height above a certain amount (to limit condos which create a ton of deadspace on the ground levels). I am sure there are plenty more things government, etc can do to incentivise.
In fairness plenty of the mansion block era buildings that weren’t up to standard got demolished decades ago or got levelled during the bombings in WW2 so what survive tends to be the higher quality buildings that managed to escape bomb damage. They’re not really a fair sample to compare to modern apartment buildings.
Most modern apartment buildings, unless they are of high-end or luxury calibre with all mod-cons and amenities like pools and gyms and concierge, are shoddily built with cheap materials and cookie-cutter floorplans stacked above one another to make maximum profit. I would never want to live in one of those.
@@MTMF.londonYes, I lived in one, and one of the tenants drywall above blew off. We’ve had pipe leakage causing flooding of the ground floor, and collapses due to waterlogged pipes.
I used to live in one in Maida Vale, they are gorgeous, funny thing is people topless bathing in the communal garden! Plus also walking large circles around the stairwell to get to the 4th floor was a real effort. But they are a wonderful place to live. Sad thing was no parking and seeing cars with windows smashed almost every single day.
Meanwhile in outer London you can buy a 5 bedroom house with a massive garden for the same price and still have access to fantastic public transport and amenities.
Great vid!
You should make more videos like this on london architecture
It's in the works 👀 Any topics you might like to see explored?
I'm quite interested in the white stucco homes in London - might be too niche though
its a shame you didnt get to go inside York mansion and get some footage of the lift. They are a work of art!
Just less than 700k is not very affordable for the majority of people
Get a husband/wife/partner and save save save !
Even with a zero percent mortgage (doesn’t exit) this would be 2k a month over 30 years at 700k. No way this isn’t expensive compared to average earnings.
@@susanreeve3840 people need to stop normalizing these high price. house prices are out of control and unattainable for everyday working people. 24k a yr for 30 years is crazy and that's on a zero % mortgage which doesn't exist
@@AmazinJ89 to suggest that people just need to save harder to afford them is totally unrealistic.
I think he is speaking mostly about prices in London. Elsewhere in the UK you can expect to pay a lot less - the average price of a 2-bed flat is around 250K.
Fantastic video - very interesting
I love high ceilings in general. The rooms don't need to be that big you just feel less hemmed in compared to new builds. The building regs are really poorly observed in the UK at the moment for whatever reason its cowboy central.
I love the old mansion blocks. There's some gorgeous one in St. Johns wood and Maida Vale. God only knows what sky high rents the tenants are paying though...
03:17 the tortoise and the hare…..why have property developers not learned from this fable that my 3 year old nephew understands?
Money, I suppose...
4:13 The same elements? Where is the ornament? Ornament is central to the beauty of a building. Don't believe people who say the opposite. All great cities we visit, Prague, Rome, Venice, Vienna, Barcelona, have a lot of ornament. Absence of ornament feels depressing, no matter how interesting you make the volumes.
Although I'm NOT a fan of modernist designs given the current house price to income ratio of over 16 few will be in a position to buy their "regulation" battery hen 1 bed apartment anyway! Of course London exemplies the very worst of the UK's systemic housing shortage but that's a topic for another day!
Maintenance fees must be off the scale watched a doc about the Dakota NY jesus murphy the fees where yacht scale ffs
Worth mentioning how the old (and continental for what's worth) have a full 180 through facing. The new builds are unfit for purpose with climate change and the inability to quickly ventilate and cool down the flat by opening both sides.
I wonder why the UK build their blocks like that but not on the continent. Regulation?
The Peckham mansion blocks are hideous and brutal? Why? They have absolutely no soul
Comparing the look of the modern blocks to the Victorian makes me so sad. It's worth the money to make something look beautiful.
I think that those new flats are so ugly! Bring back the period Edwardian buildings style!
I am very surprised with housing in London, it is really really bad, I wouldn't mind paying the high price I pay if my studio would have been a bit more modern, better ventilation system, better windows, and I wouldn't need to hear my neighboors showering or talking. Surprisingly enough, constructions in some poorest countries are better than the ones here.
1:07 that is just the worst use of space ever,
And not forgetting that all the poorly built mansion blocks fell down many years ago
A lot were bombed in the war. Plenty of them still standing in London though, they were solidly built.
What makes that modern mansion block and actual mansion block? Do my eyes, it doesn't look anything like one.
Yeah we can’t be calling those new things mansion blocks. Give them a different name, they’re not grand mansions. Maybe call this period grey cube living or something.
I'm not sure I'd buy a property bult after WW2....1970 at the latest...
Now they are built like a compound of ship containers then covered in fake brickwork
New build flats are just not built for families (2 adults and 1-3 kids). They are pokey and dull.
Sorry but the aesthetically, the 'modern' mansion block is even worse than the high rise to look at even if they are structurally sound. Can't we have the original Victorian/Georgian look too? But great video.
Open plan kitchens are the worst.
I don’t like open plan kitchen
These modern mention blocks doesn't make feel good. The old ones look do much better
!
If I could afford it would rather have an older home with architecture than a modern apartment block. You may have amenities but no character as well as no history. I have seen some of these on Unique property channel and some modern ones. I don't know who they are building all these things for and no social housing isn't fair.
They feel cheap. And they look cheap. They won't stand the test of time and will look even worse in 20 years. That modern mansion block looks like a detention centre.
Are we following Chinese TOFU DREGS building. I hope not.
Modern apartments are Lego built and minus beauty and elegance
Stop london growing
This mans hairy chest is distracting…in a good way
I did not know how spacious apartments could be until I moved to Berlin. Never looked back
All apartments in Berlin have beautiful double height ceilings. Fantastic.
@@danh5637 No, they don't! May be in the period buildings (Altbau) or industrial-style loft buildings. The new-built (Neubau) don't normally have them.
Barcelona too
Except evil investors are already trying to buy them and split them in two. Also, people like you have made finding a place difficult.
@@wonderwinder1 people like me?
If the city councils only gave permission to mansion blocks, then you'd have mansion blocks.
If it works in Pondbury, it works in London.
On the issue of modern buildings being built quickly due to high demand. Funny thing is most buildings in the 1800s were also built quickly due to high demand because alot of people moved to the cities. Yet they could combine building quick with gigh quality back then (Empire State Building in New York was built in 14 months).
Makes you think about the concept of "progress".
It isn't quite that simple. You have to consider other things like relative cost, workers pay, and safety conditions. 5 people died constructing the empire state building and many more injured. The construction industry was hardly a utopia for those suffering it for a living, even if it did leave behind a greater legacy than today's industry might.
@@sleepcrime People die during construction today aswell. Yet what we build today isn't durable (or beautiful).
@@christianwestling2019 no, come on, most buildings today will not claim a life and multiple injuries, let alone 5 lives.
Not considering all the shoddy buildings from the 1800s that fell down, is known as survivorship bias 😉
Definitely some really ropey construction from our past. I've seen buildings from 100 years ago where floor joist have gone to the wrong brick course and created sloping floors in half the house, Ive seen fireplaces suspended over a void that have survived 70 years because no one stood on them, but then have fallen into the cellar.
I was totally on side with the presenter until he showed us the "modern mansion blocks in Peckham". Utterly atrocious monstrosities, get your eyes checked man. They've all the charm of a prison block and look like the architect designed them using a Minecraft beta. You'd have to pay me the £600k to live in those! 😂
The other difference is that the new builds will be demolished in 20 or 30 years time to make way for more generic crap design , and the old builds will be around for as long as people can keep them standing.
Less than 700k, wow, amazing price... isn't it insane we think that price is a good price?
Great video!
1:27 Who wants to sit in front of the telly/fire/screen of your choice ~ in the same space as where you've just had dinner and even where it's been cooked too?
That used to be the norm, before everyone had central heating and double glazing. Many families congregated around the kitchen fireplace. The radio and later the TV (much smaller than it is now) were there, and there might even be washing hoisted up overhead to dry. Homework was done on the dining table. Families lived there even if they had a proper "drawing room" which was kept cold, clean and undisturbed.
@@faithlesshound5621
Indeed so, but arguably not necessarily in regard to the level of purchasing power your contemporary mansion block apartment buyer.
My point was a bit of a _crie de coeur_ because I am beginning to fear that the usual cycle of trends in domestic architectural floorplans has stalled.
Once everyone wanted a separate dining room, then we were all basically shoehorned into eating our dinner on our laps in front of the telly.
And the national housebuilders realised that they could squeeze more dwellings onto their "Executive homes" land parcels.
And we've just gone along with it.
And there's the reason why we in this country have one of the smallest square footages of private properties on the planet.
@@JP_TaVeryMuch In my opinion, the open-plan living room-dining-kitchen has been the greatest real-estate con ever.
Used to live in a mansion block in Hackney, think it was called like Graham House, just behind the Empire. It wasn't anything amazing but the flat was alright, big windows and high ceilings, but not the ornate exterior decorations of some other blocks. I always used to walk past Navarino Mansions up the road and they're absolutely stunning. I'm in a house now but I still love to see them, and I'd move back in to one of it was in the right place
Funny but I am from London and would NEVER rent a place that had the name "mansions" in the title because they are usually an absolute dump. A place like this is probably more central though and built for that purpose, the amount of seedy bedsits in big homes that are simply called "mansions" is actually funny.
🤣🤣🤣 he said less than £700,000, for a three bedroom 'LEASEHOLD' like it was a good deal. Hahaha You can get a decent 3 bedroom 'FREEHOLD' with a front yard and a garden, in London, for way less than that ridiculous price point. Anyway, loved the video and those old Mansion blocks look delightful :D
I worked on these blocks in the 1960 = 1970.s and at that time the nature of leases changed from short 7 years to 99 years mostly occupied by the wealthy and in areas like Kensington and knightsbridge, They had similar construction brick walls filler joist floors sometimes hollow clay blocks or breeze blocks to partition walls, In those days you had a porter on duty AM at the entrance but later enterphones
Those “modern mansion blocks” are hideous.
Soooo ugly 😂
Interesting & I heartedly agree.
my work is in residential buildings, especially the new buddies and I couldn't agree more.
They are soulless, boring and so samey!
I sometime walk past a client building as I can't tell them apart.
And they usually have the same problems, caused by lazy design, shoddy construction, and poor management.
All the newly built modern housing complexes are scams. Ridiculously low quality material and workmanship, plus the extortionate maintenance fee for the services you'll eventually be bored with. Don't do it.
Rented flats in those very nice, old buildings are falling apart as well. In one I was renting, the ceiling came down and it was made with the thinnest wood sticks, stuck together with mud... I could also constantly hear my neighbour upstairs every time he walked across the room: old builds were NOT built according to quality standards either...
I really don't understand why anyone lives in London by choice. Horrible place.
I thought he was going somewhere, then he showed this monstrosity as "modern mansion block"...
Thank you for this lovely reminder
Have you even been in a real mansion block? Instead of talking about it, actually go view them mate.
Service charges in mansion blocks are just ridiculous
£12k service charge for a 3 bedroom flat might be why
Modern mansion blocks look like same dull grey blocks.
Developers are really the scourge of modern life.
The blue prints are too small to make any sense
Love these buildings!
£700k, bargain mate.........
Watchfield Court,a lovely 1930's Art Deco block in Chiswick ,my mother lived in for 13 years has great dimensions,high ceilings,set in beautiful gardens.
I prefer 1930's to Victorian..demensions of rooms seem bigger.
Prince of Wales Drive Battersea. We have two flats converted into one. Perfect living space for the weekend and in a conservation area overlooking the park so no one can build or block your view.
Great video! There are examples in Norway where the traditional designs outsold the modernist ones, so they actually made more sense to build.
Building regulations had minimum room sizes at one time. They had to be big enough for families to live in, quite simply.
I love the older mansion blocks. They make me want to move to England. Not so much some of the cookie cutter modern stuff put out there.
hey just an editing remark: the sound effect when changing the photos is too jarring
Great video! thank you for the west hampstead mention! ❤
4:33 £625k is not reasonable for most people 🙄
Great content. Slick production.
This is a bit clickbaity. There are reasons beyond profitability (it is one of the reasons) that explain why those mansion blocks can't be built again:
- planning: most planning authorities require a high proportion of dual aspect units, meaning you can't get continuous frontage like this, hence why a lot of modern buildings are slimmer but taller. Likewise, separation distance requirements between buildings and between units mean you end up with all kinds of set backs rather than continuous buildings lines against the streets.
- building regulations: the separation of certain functions within buildings as well as sustainability (and again other planning requirements) mean you need to have plant rooms and common areas have to provide more services and access requirements for fire safety etc than these buildings do.
Basically build form has been reshaped by regulations too, profit accounts for the aesthetics (as does the loss of skill in the industry), but let's remember that many of those mansion blocks were a product of their time and also driven by profitability.
Great video. However, you compared a ground floor period flat to a similarly priced new build property on the 9th floor. It's like comparing apples to oranges.
Hampstead's postcode is NW3 not NW6 ( that's Kilburn / Queen's Park... different borough altogether: Brent instead of Camden ).
£610K for Peckham? I wouldn't call it fairly priced... however, we all have opinions.
West Hampstead is in NW6
@@dominicaubrey-jones2880 West Hampstead has nothing to do with Hampstead village.
Its name was “invented” by a creative real estate agent to identify the area known as the village of West End, hence “West End Lane”, one of the main roads in that area.
Basically. It’s Kilburn minus Aldi minus vape shops.
White English men built them
Now White English men have destroyed them.