Raymond Unwin – Hampstead Garden Suburb

The British garden city movement aimed to create a high-standard residential environment affordable for anyone, independent of their social status. As impoverished and defenceless people had no chance of finding employment besides in the cities, potential was seen in the revival of urbanized areas – namely, in garden suburbs. Supported by influential individuals, Henrietta Benett founded the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust in 1904 in this very spirit. In 1905, Raymond Unwin made the first designs for an area of 243 English acres. Strict regulations were introduced to realise a high-standard project defining the maximum quantity of apartments for each acre, the maximum length and minimum width of the streets, as well as the minimu dimensions of rooms integrated in designs. Areas, plazas, streets and gardens between the buildings were prevailing features of the tracery and layout, much like a mathematics formula. The site was divided into smaller sub-units with versatile geometry. To avoid uniform streetscapes, intensive green areas were integrated. Several architects were involved in the design work. The site is accessible via a town gate which embodies the idea of protection, analogous with medieval towns on the boundaries of nature and the urban domain. As a result of the success of the project, Hampstead continuously grew and evolved by integrating more and more sites.