No 1 Croydon
Richard Seifert & Partners (1970)
This tower is a strong place to begin any tour of Modernist Croydon. It captures something of the post-War zeitgeist - the excitement of the Space Age, the possibilities of progress, the opportunity to build something new and better - and it's a great introduction to this singularly Space Age town. Welcome to Croydon.
And, let's be fair, the builiding is beautiful.
No 1 Croydon (also known as the NLA Tower, after its first occupants, and the Thruppeny Bit / 50p Building depending on your age in relation to decimalisation) perches on an awkward sort-of roundabout next to East Croydon station. As with Seifert's Centre Point in central London, the site is an uncomfortable contortion - here constrained to the south and east by roads, by a compact wedge of bus station to the west, and two tracks of Tramlink to the north.
Nonetheless, this is a proper sci-fi fantasy of a building, sharing a vision of the future with Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Sophisticated and tricksy design details confuse the eye. The silver-white mosaic tile finish gives a pristine, unageing feel to a building approaching its 50s. Incomplete architraves around the windows suggest that additional interlocking floorplates could be docked from above if more space were required, more befitting a space station than an office block in Surrey. Quite right.
Repeated floorplates, squares with chamfered corners, each offset by 45 degrees, create the impression of a cylindrical twisting motion, bringing to mind a Crossrail tunnel boring machine (perhaps a Victoria Line one would be more apposite given the tower's age, which also gives me opportunity to reference this super 1969 documentary on iPlayer). The tower has perhaps emerged from the jagged concrete pit at the base, or maybe it's burying its way downwards. Let's not forbid buildings from creating their own fantasy heritage and context (cf all those Victorian buildings which summon up ancient Greece or Rome for the British provinces), even if that heritage is actually in an imagined future.
Demonstrating a characteristically Seifertian [what's a neologism between friends?] aversion to right-angles, the tower is supported by jazzily-angled pillars, again in silver-white mosaic, projecting outwards from the underground car park and underpass beneath. Similar projections are repeated in Seifert's nearby Corinthian House (another great office block, on the other side of the train station).
No1 Croydon is an absolute gem of a building which has, for some reason, been declined for listing by English Heritage. Perhaps because it's not well-known, which I hope in some small way to remedy with this short essay in appreciation (cf also the Twentieth Century Society's feature on the tower as Building of the Month).
The lack of listing has resulted in the recent uncomfortable addition of a small Sainsburys store in 2014, parasitically encroaching on the podium beneath the tower. This, to my mind, is a thankfully minor incursion, albeit a shame. Nonetheless, it is an example of the threat to, frankly, a bloody super building from C21 commercial drivers. Which in its own way may appear appropriate, given the post-War whimsical erasure of our heritage (Seifert's 1960s redevelopment of Euston station led to the Euston Arch - chunky, daft and pompous as it was - being smashed up and dumped unnecessarily in the River Lea). However, to repeat the errors of the past, especially when we know precisely what we are doing, is a dreadful idea. No-one wins if we unthinkingly destroy (or worse, knowingly) everything Modernist, solely because it doesn't look Georgian or Victorian or otherwise Old. No 1 Croydon really is a superb piece of architecture, which we really mustn't lose.
Please retain the the good things from the Twentieth Century. Or whenever. Please.
There, I think that's my epitaph sorted.
Nonetheless, this is a proper sci-fi fantasy of a building, sharing a vision of the future with Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Sophisticated and tricksy design details confuse the eye. The silver-white mosaic tile finish gives a pristine, unageing feel to a building approaching its 50s. Incomplete architraves around the windows suggest that additional interlocking floorplates could be docked from above if more space were required, more befitting a space station than an office block in Surrey. Quite right.
Repeated floorplates, squares with chamfered corners, each offset by 45 degrees, create the impression of a cylindrical twisting motion, bringing to mind a Crossrail tunnel boring machine (perhaps a Victoria Line one would be more apposite given the tower's age, which also gives me opportunity to reference this super 1969 documentary on iPlayer). The tower has perhaps emerged from the jagged concrete pit at the base, or maybe it's burying its way downwards. Let's not forbid buildings from creating their own fantasy heritage and context (cf all those Victorian buildings which summon up ancient Greece or Rome for the British provinces), even if that heritage is actually in an imagined future.
No1 Croydon is an absolute gem of a building which has, for some reason, been declined for listing by English Heritage. Perhaps because it's not well-known, which I hope in some small way to remedy with this short essay in appreciation (cf also the Twentieth Century Society's feature on the tower as Building of the Month).
The lack of listing has resulted in the recent uncomfortable addition of a small Sainsburys store in 2014, parasitically encroaching on the podium beneath the tower. This, to my mind, is a thankfully minor incursion, albeit a shame. Nonetheless, it is an example of the threat to, frankly, a bloody super building from C21 commercial drivers. Which in its own way may appear appropriate, given the post-War whimsical erasure of our heritage (Seifert's 1960s redevelopment of Euston station led to the Euston Arch - chunky, daft and pompous as it was - being smashed up and dumped unnecessarily in the River Lea). However, to repeat the errors of the past, especially when we know precisely what we are doing, is a dreadful idea. No-one wins if we unthinkingly destroy (or worse, knowingly) everything Modernist, solely because it doesn't look Georgian or Victorian or otherwise Old. No 1 Croydon really is a superb piece of architecture, which we really mustn't lose.
Please retain the the good things from the Twentieth Century. Or whenever. Please.
There, I think that's my epitaph sorted.
No 1 Croydon, reflected in Alico House
Great post. It would be great to make a map, publish a magazine, or set up a walking tour like groups like the Manchester Modernist Society do around some of these landmarks of post-war architecture.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to suggest on twitter that a Croydon Modernist Society might be a good idea? I'd be interested in helping form one. We'd have to distinguish it from the London 20thC society, but I'm keen on giving it a Croydon and surrounds focus, so that it might give residents some pride in the buildings they see every day? Anyone else reading this interested in setting up a society?
Hello Katrina! I think something to celebrate this unusual 60s town would be lovely. And it'd definitely make sense for it to compliment, rather than rival, other similar groupings. Feel free to DM me on Twitter! Cheers.
DeleteFantastic photo, and a great article too. Many post-war buildings in our town have been mediocre (e.g. Taberner House and its replacement), but as you say, No1 Croydon is "an absolute gem".
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the Croydon Visitors Centre would help. They should stock copies of your print, showing how blue the sky is in Croydon
ReplyDelete