Loudoun Road housing, shops and craft workshops, comprising north block (61-83 Loudoun Road, 1-8 Langtry Walk) and south block (49-59 Loudoun Road, 2-62 Alexandra Place).

This mixed-use complex, comprising a north block (61-83 Loudoun Road, 1-8 Langtry Walk) and south block (49-59 Loudoun Road, 2-62 Alexandra Place), was designed by Tom Kay for the London Borough of Camden and built between 1974 and 1980.

Construction and Materials

The structure comprises load-bearing cavity walls of metric brick with pre-cast concrete dressings. The floors and end walls are of reinforced concrete. The north block has rigid sheet roofs on steel beams, while the south block has reinforced concrete columns and timber roofs. Windows are timber, though those of the south block have mostly been replaced in uPVC (the latter replacements are not of special interest).

Layout

The 0.13-hectare complex comprises north and south blocks, bounded by Loudoun Road to the east, the retaining wall to the Euston–Watford railway cutting to the north, and Alexandra Place to the south.

The north block is a terrace with a stepped section. To the south is a shopping parade (1-8 Langtry Walk) with a pair of shopkeepers' flats jettied over. At second-floor level and to the rear at first-floor level are two sets of stepped craft workshops (61-83 Loudoun Road), reached from external steps and newel fire escapes at both ends. A sunken service yard, entered from Loudoun Road, overlooks the railway cutting.

The larger south block is approximately square on plan and comprises 10 terraces of maisonettes and 16 split-level flats (2-62 Alexandra Place) stepping up to the east over workshop units (49-59 Loudoun Road, now converted to offices). The structures cover the entire footprint of this part of the site. The workshops have customer entrances to Loudoun Road and loading access from an internal access route which runs north-south through the building. All dwellings are accessed either direct from ground level or via a series of external staircases. External steps from Alexandra Place and between pairs of dwellings lead to terraces and an upper access deck.

Exterior

The exteriors are clad in dark red metric bricks with raked pointing and deeply chamfered pre-cast concrete dressings to openings, projections and vents. Joinery and ductwork were originally painted rust red, now mostly over-painted. The windows of the south block have been replaced in uPVC (not of special interest). Stairs and terraces are detailed in brick paviours in stack bond, and the access deck of the south block is laid to square concrete paving slabs. The stair handrails are of tubular steel 'key klamp' construction with mesh panels, similar in appearance to those on the Alexandra Road estate. House numbers are imprinted in bold lettering on glazed cream ceramic panels set into the brickwork.

The stepped and curved profile of the north block, and the stairs to the upper units, are expressed on the end elevations, into which are also set porthole windows of various sizes. The curves in the roof profile and round windows are marked by pre-cast dressings which are curved on one face and stepped on the other. The oversailing Langtry Walk elevation is progressively jettied out on chamfered concrete soffits. A colonnade of steel stanchions carries the first-floor flats and incorporates down lights. The shop units have been repainted and new fascias and roller shutters have been added (these alterations are not of special interest). Above is a continuous projecting window strip to the first-floor flats, and the roof curves down to a projecting eaves set close above the second-floor window strip. The jetties with their chamfered bressumers and the detailing of the window mullion are comparable to the adjacent 9 Langtry Walk by Evans & Shalev.

The north elevations of the craft workshops are industrial in character, with north light glazing and curved profiled sheet roofing. The three bays to the service yard incorporate vent extracts arranged to suggest smiling, neutral and frowning faces. The shop and workshop units have flush doors with porthole windows, some of which have been replaced (replacements not of special interest). Metal flues have been added to the studios and surface cabling to the service yard elevations; these additions are not of special interest.

The external steps of the south block are also prominently expressed on the end elevations, with the maisonettes stepping up behind them and groups of porthole windows lighting the workshop units below. The elevation to Loudoun Road incorporates steps down to sunken front entrances and wide shop windows to the workshop units, to which a central metal canopy has been added (not of special interest). Above are the windows and recessed balconies of the residential units.

The western half of the south block comprises two stepped terraces each of five maisonettes, arranged in handed pairs around small terraces with a single end unit to the north. Their front doors are recessed diagonally behind chamfered corners to form entrance porches, screened by sloping flank walls. The stairways lead up to a paved deck with access to two levels of flats to the north. The upper pairs of flats are accessed from steps which splay out at the base, joining brick bin stores incorporating round lamps in pre-cast concrete units. The area behind is an entrance court for the lower flats. The opposite dwellings to the west are provided with brick planters. Brick walls have been inserted between the planters at a later date to create an enclosed forecourt to the residents' entrances; these additions are not of special interest.

Interior

North Block Workshops

The workshop interiors to the north block have fair-faced concrete block, now over-painted in some units, and a concrete screed floor. Breeze block steps of alternating-tread type with a metal handrail lead to an upper level. To the front of the units is a double-height space lit by north light-type glazing. The windows bear onto a continuous edge beam with deep chamfers, and the sloping party walls have stepped concrete edges which coordinate with the block dimensions. At the rear of the units is a top-lit mezzanine gallery, fitted with painted steel steps and railings. The second-floor workshops are smaller and their mezzanine levels have slots fitted into the floor over the jetty, the outermost retaining their glazing.

North Block Shop Units and Flats

Many of the shop units on Langtry Walk have been refitted, with suspended ceilings and new floor surfaces. The shop interiors are not of special interest. The shopkeepers' flats have three narrow bedrooms and a square living room separated by a kitchen; the flat interiors are not of special interest. The rear corridor incorporates an internal hallway with recessed pram store, exposed brickwork and a painted panel ceiling. The front windows project out, giving a tiled ledge approximately 1.5 metres deep.

South Block

The south block comprises three dwelling types. The interiors of the south block flats are not of special interest. The two terraces to the west are maisonettes entered from the upper level. Adjoining the entrance is a kitchen-diner with a sliding door connecting with the living room. The living room has full-width french windows opening onto a balcony with brick retaining walls, chunky wooden rails and a triangular corner seat. The french windows are uPVC replacements and not of special interest. Stairs lead down to a bathroom/WC and two bedrooms, both of which open onto a terrace with a rear entrance to the lower terrace.

East of the access deck are two interlocking, split-level flats, arranged in handed pairs. The lower flats are entered from an entrance court with adjacent patio doors to a front kitchen-diner. From the hallway are straight flights of stairs leading up to a living room with full-width patio doors to rear balcony; and down to two bedrooms. External stairs give access to the upper flats which have a kitchen/diner overlooking the access deck. Stairs rise to an intermediate level with two bedrooms, and an adjacent straight flight gives access to an upper living room with full-width patio doors to a front balcony.

Subsidiary Features

South of the north block is a concrete retaining wall which separates the road from a pedestrian walkway which leads west to Alexandra Road estate.