Wyndham Court
| Wyndham Court | |
|---|---|
 Wyndham Court's internal courtyard | |
  Location within Southampton | |
| General information | |
| Location | Southampton, |
| Coordinates | 50°54′30″N1°24′40″W/ 50.9084°N 1.4111°W |
| Owner | Southampton City Council |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Lyons Israel Ellis |
| Structural engineer | Hajnal-Konyi and Myers |
| Main contractor | G Minter |
| Awards and prizes | Architectural Design Project Award, 1966 |
Listed Building– Grade II | |
| Official name | Wyndham Court including raised terrace and ramps Wyndham Court including terraces and ramps |
| Designated | 22 December 1998 |
| Reference no. | 1051043 |
Wyndham Courtis a block ofsocial housinginSouthampton,England.It was designed byLyons Israel Ellisfor Southampton City Council in 1966, and is located nearSouthampton Central station[1]and theMayflower Theatre.Wyndham Court includes 184 flats, three cafes or restaurants and 13 shops, and was completed in 1969.[2]
Design and construction[edit]
It was designed by the architecture firmLyons Israel Ellis,with E.D. Lyons being the partner in charge and architects Frank Linden and Aubrey Hume also assigned to the job. The structural engineers were Hajnal-Konyi and Myers and the firm of builders was G Minter.[2]
Description[edit]
The building comprises 184 apartments and sixteen retail outlets, three of which are designated as cafés or restaurants. 122 of the apartments are two or three-bedroom maisonettes, with 61 one-bedroom flats and bedsits on the first and second floors, with the remaining apartment at a higher level, above the maisonettes.[2]
It is built from reinforced concrete and finished with white board-marked concrete, with narrow bands painted horizontally between windows and the partition walls that separate the apartments' balconies. Because it is built on a hill, the building has six storeys at its northern end and seven at the southern. There is an underground car park which was constructed from the basements of previous buildings on the site.[2]
Architecturally, it evokes thecruise shipswhich sail from the nearbyport of Southampton.[1]Its irregularfacadesare described byEnglish Heritageas "sculptural and expressive". The architects' use of whiteconcretewas intended to be sympathetic to older civic buildings which dominate thecity centre.[2]According to theRoyal Institute of British Architects'Book of British Housing,the flats were intended to house professionals, and as a result "every detail was designed for a quality finish including the powerful, sculpted form of the building".[3]
Wyndham Court received an Architectural Design Project award in 1966 and was Grade IIlistedin 1998[2]despite opposition from the local press.[1]The writerOwen Hatherleyhas named Wyndham Court as one of his 10 favourite modern buildings in the United Kingdom[4]and his favourite building in Southampton.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcHatherley, Owen(November 2010).A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain.New York:Verso Books.pp. 6–7.
- ^abcdefHistoric England."Wyndham Court including raised terrace and ramps; Wyndham Court including terraces and ramps (1051043)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved18 April2012.
- ^Colquhoun, Ian (2008) [1999].Riba Book of British Housing: 1900 to the Present Day(2nd ed.). Oxford:Architectural Press.p. 246.ISBN9781136368257.
- ^Hatherley, Owen(7 February 2015)."My top 10 favourite ugly buildings".The Guardian.Retrieved29 July2015.
- ^Hart, Tom (16 March 2015)."Owen Hatherley".Geographical.Retrieved29 July2015.
External links[edit]
- Hatherley, Owen(26 July 2007)."Wyndham Court, Southampton".Nothing To See Here.Retrieved18 April2012.
