Ian Fraser House, St Dunstans

Ian Fraser House, located on Greenways in Brighton, is a rehabilitation and training centre for those blinded in war, built between 1935 and 1938 by the architectural firm Burnet, Tait and Lorne. The building features a steel structure faced with brick laid in stretcher bond and has a roof that is obscured by a parapet.

The exterior consists of seven storeys with a twelve-window range on the principal west front, designed in the style of the Modern Movement. The west front is symmetrical, with a wing of similar size extending behind it in an east-west direction, giving the building a cross-shaped plan. The entrance is flat-arched and is sheltered by a cantilevered canopy that is both outswept and slightly upswept.

The centrepiece of the building is a three-storey section with a three-window range, topped by a four-storey polygonal glazed bay. Flanking this are wings that feature a six-window range over five storeys and a four-window range on the top two storeys. These shorter wings have quadrant corners, and the top storey has almost continuous glazing that is slightly set back under a deep horizontal awning. The ground-floor windows are flanked by engaged columns and faced with brown tiles. Most of the glazing has been renewed, except for the semicircular bays that terminate all three wings on the east side.

A two-storey wing was added to the north-east corner shortly after the original construction, and a single-storey wing containing a swimming pool was added to the south in 1975. While the 1975 addition is respectful of the original building, it is not considered of special interest. A two-storey flat-roofed extension from 1998 is also noted as not being of special interest.

Inside, the design reflects the needs of the blind, featuring a simple axial plan and the provision of guide rails, which remain intact.