55 Campden Street

Late flowering modernism in Kensington. Clearly referential to much earlier houses, like those of the Weissenhof in Stuttgart, this well-mannered approach to modernity may well have been considered an acceptable form in this part of West London. It lacks any real post-war gestures and really reaches into the 1920s and 30s for its image. The metal railings, that on close inspection were obviously manufactured in the 1960s, are of a gauge and spacing that is inter-war. The arrhythmic apertures attest to an interesting plan and section with half landings serving the entrances to the luxury apartments. Neatly handling the corner and maximising space in the provision of a basement flat that negotiates the site levels whilst respecting the heights of the surrounding streets, the scheme and its larger neighbour, The Mount (also from the same office at the same time), offer a neutrally polite face to the well-heeled hilltop.