Elstree Hill
London BR1

SOLD

Architect: Walter Segal

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Located on a quiet, private residential road in Bromley, this three-bedroom detached house was built to the designs of the visionary architect Walter Segal. The property benefits from a separate one-bedroom house located in the gardens.

Walter Segal (1907 – 1985) was the innovator of the celebrated ‘Segal Method,’ a modern timber-frame construction technique that enabled and encouraged people to build their own homes. For more information on Walter Segal, please see the ‘History’ section.

Built in the late 1970s in what were the grounds of the neighbouring Victorian house, the property has a pleasant garden and an attractive terrace incorporated into the ground floor. The ground floor is largely open-plan with wooden floors and underfloor heating throughout. It incorporates a kitchen / dining area and a reception area as well as a WC. The three bedrooms and a family bathroom are on the first floor. There is an off-street parking space.

A separate one bedroom / one bath ‘eco house’ with its own entrance forms part of the property. It has recently been redecorated and has rental potential estimated by local agents at £1,400 pcm.

The main house was recently fitted with a solar panel system generating ‘feed in tariff’ income of approximately £1,000-£2,000 per annum in addition to the energy savings it provides.

Elstree Hill is an unmade road in a quiet residential area approximately one mile from Bromley town centre. There is a supermarket within walking distance and a large pedestrianized shopping area including numerous restaurants and bars. Nearby train stations are at Shortlands and Ravensbourne (trains turn from Shortlands to London Blackfriars and London Victoria in approximately 25 minutes). Good schools are to be found in nearby Shortlands. Bromley is one London’s safest and greenest boroughs.

Bromley is currently undergoing significant regeneration. Bromely North Village is now largely completed, to wide acclaim, and provides pedestrianised streets and range of outstanding restaurants and other services. Bromley South is soon to go an undergo a regeneration scheme overseen by the Cathedral Group, a company known for their dedication to exceptional architecture.

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.


History

Walter Segal was a visionary architect who was born in Switzerland but spent most of his working life in the UK. One of the most fascinating figures of late 20th-century architecture, he was a Modernist who maintained an interest in traditional building techniques.

Segal trained in Berlin, a city that was at the forefront of Modernism in architecture, and moved to London in 1936. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that Segal began to gain recognition for his ideas and methods. Today, Segal’s reputation continues to rise – not least because of his environmentally friendly approach to building.

The so-called ‘Segal Method’ was a way of constructing houses that eliminated the need for various processes such as a brick-laying, cement-pouring and other techniques that Segal considered superfluous to the construction of a good house. Instead, he advocated a modular, timber-frame system that is reminiscent of 19th-century American houses or traditional Japanese architecture. For more information on the Segal Method please click here.

Segal himself was much influenced by the egalitarian principles of William Morris, as well as the early Modernists. “The buildings of the International Style”, wrote Segal, “ were by definition unassuming… They were meant to promote wellbeing”. Segal was also inspired by traditional building principles, particularly those of Japan. Colin Ward, in an essay on Segal, noted, “in his life, as well as his work, he tried to pare away the superfluous and concentrate on the important”.

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