RESPONSE TO THE PLANNING APPLICATION TO DEMOLISH THE EXISTING HOUSE
AT 108 WESTERFIELD ROAD AND ERECTION OF A 3 STOREY – 50 BED CARE HOME
AND 4 ASSISTED LIVING FLATS WITH ASSOCIATED VEHICLE PARKING AND CHANGE OF
USE.
REF NO. IP/09/00323/OUT
INTRODUCTION
The following synopsis deals with the quality and uniqueness of the existing house designed by
a significant local architect, draughtsman, painter, photographer and antiquarian, Birkin Haward
OBE FRIBA FSA Hon MA, in the late 1950’s. It seeks to demonstrate why this house should not
be demolished.
THE ARCHITECT
Birkin was born in Ipswich in 1912, where he lived and practised for most of his life. He attended
Bracondale School in Norwich before being articled to Cautley and Barefoot, architects in
Ipswich. After completing study at the Bartlett School of Architecture with the Asphitel prize, he
qualified in 1934. From then until 1942 he worked mainly for the innovative architects,
Mendelsohn and Chermayeff on the famous early modern Bexhill Pavilion, the Cohen House,
Chelsea and other schemes in London and later in their office in Jerusalem. After war service
with the Royal Engineers in the 1940’s, he joined the local firm of architects, Johns Slater, where
he became a partner in 1950.
He ran a busy architectural practice, initially with Martin Slater until 1962, then as head of Johns
Slater and Haward until his retirement in 1982, undertaking more than 2000 commissions. His
sketchbooks of this period show a continual stream of ideas and designs with his fluent
draughtsmanship. He was keen to work in sectors where the public would benefit most, as in
education, designing over 100 schools, colleges and parts of universities, including UEA
Norwich.
There are still recognizable local landmarks he designed such as Suffolk College (then Civic
College), the AXA offices (then Guardian Royal Exchange) and many Ipswich schools including
Chantry High School, Sprites Lane and Gusford Primary (Civic Trust Award) Schools. While
Chantry School illustrates the use of the national CLASP prefabricated construction system, the
primary schools adopt Birkin’s own idea of a 12ft planning grid with precast concrete columns,
timber beams and various cladding options. Timber pyramid (Gusford), hyperbolic paraboloid
(Sprites Lane), pitched and flat roofs were used on different schools with this flexible supporting
structural system. His own design of large geodesic timber framed sports domes were often
linked to local school redevelopments (eg Holywells High School, Ipswich), for which he received
the Sir Stuart Mallinson Gold Medal for Timber Research in 1976. The Congregational Church
at Castle Hill and the Fisons Offices in Princes Street were both awarded the RIBA Bronze
Medal in 1957 and 1961 respectively.
However one of his most significant buildings is the unusual Spinney house in Westerfield
Road which he designed in 1957-59 for his own family. This has been widely published in the
architectural press both here and abroad. A description follows in the next section.
While running his practice with up to sixty staff, he still found time for his personal painting and
drawing. He was a surprising experimenter, absorbing a wide range of influences and trying out
different media, such as pencil, watercolour, gouache, oils, ink, wax crayon, oil pastel, collage,
silk screen and linocuts. He was also a keen photographer, travelling around Europe, recording
the latest modern buildings as well as historic cathedrals and churches with his Leica camera
(and 520mm lens for medieval stained glass).
During his ‘retirement’ he worked intensively on various research projects, initially focusing on
Victorian stained glass with comprehensive Norfolk and Suffolk volumes being published in
1984 and 1989. Then a Dictionary of Architects of Suffolk Buildings 1800 – 1914 was compiled
with Cynthia Brown and Robert Kindred in 1991. His ‘Suffolk Church Arcades’ was published in
1993 when he was 81, with over 250 fully measured and drawn church interiors, plans and
details. He died in 2002, leaving three sons (two of whom are architects) and a daughter.
Coincidently an exhibition of his paintings and drawings are currently on display at the Ipswich
Borough Council Town Hall Galleries on the Cornhill until June 13th 2009. While this display
focuses primarily on his artwork, there are a selection of his building designs illustrated, including
this house, the Ipswich School library and UEA Sports Centre, Student Centre and Shopping
Precinct, Norwich. It shows an unusually creative man with many talents and interests.
THE HOUSE
The development of this is best described by Birkin himself in his autobiography of 1996: “The last particular Building of this period which needs to be separately mentioned from this time
is my own house, The Spinney, Westerfield Rd, Ipswich (Job no. 1599). Designing for this
started back in 1957, when I obtained the overgrown wooded site. The drawings are already
deposited with the BAL* Drawings Collection and the building is illustrated in Architectural
Design, November 1960 pp436-38; Bauen & Wohnen, June 1961 pp194-96; and House &
Garden, December 1962 pp68-73. Suffice to say that it is the only individual dwelling of the few
that I have designed that I felt able to conceive in an entirely uninhibited manner. The concrete
post and timber construction derived directly from my Gusford School thinking and proved
extremely economical and allowed me to build a much bigger house than I could otherwise have
afforded. The main concept is developed on a simple square plan and a 12ft grid, and the two
storey central space with galleries harks back to the vernacular timber hall house and gives
spacial dimensions of which I find one never tires. Being built of untreated materials, applied
materials are eliminated. Building started in January 1960 and we moved in on 8th August.”
*British Architectural Library
The external view of the house shows an interesting comparison with Le Corbusier’s iconic Villa
Savoye near Paris of 1929 (as the model in the recent exhibition at the Barbican), which he
visited. They both have a mainly solid first floor supported on slender concrete columns of four
bays by four bays square, with end overhangs. However the internal planning differs and the
Villa Savoye creates a pure white architecture of painted render and concrete, while Birkin let the
natural materials have there own expression.
The exterior is essentially restrained, with vertical cedar boarding and glazed screens with
louvres at first floor level above the expressed columns, similar screens and brick infill (not
generally full height) at ground floor level. The house is anchored in its setting by a covered
paved walkway leading from the prefabricated garage (roof sections were assembled in the
house) and front driveway. This provides a natural protected lead-in to the front door. The
panels adjacent to this door are of coloured glass set in Plaster of Paris depicting a tower during
night and day, that Birkin designed and made himself. While this is attractive from the inside
during the day, it provides a luminous coloured image that can be seen from the entrance gate in
the evening, when the internal lights are on.
It is the main double height interior space that is quite unique. Based on the central 24 feet
square being left open for both floors, it is a dramatic space, with views out to the garden. It has
clear sealed timber boarded first floor walls, gallery and ceiling with a long central roof light, all
supported on the perimeter ground floor concrete columns with some fairface brick infill or
glazing and red-brown quarry tiled flooring. A fairface red brick chimney breast is located
towards the rear, with fireplaces at both levels.
When the house was first completed, the glazed middle two bays at ground and first floor level at
the front and back allowed a view right through the house from the front to the garden beyond.
The later insertions of inner screens to reduce heat loss at ground floor level mostly obscure this
view, but are removable or could be replaced with more glazed versions.
A later insertion by Birkin of an elegant wood burning stove and flue pipe at the side of the main
space provides alternative heating to the original warm air fan system in fitted cabinets, using the
ready supply of logs from the wooded garden.
Individual rooms are aligned along each side (one bay width) at both levels. The kitchen has
purpose made fittings which utilise the external glazing for some cupboards and dual access wall
unit facing the dining area.
The adjacent drainage outfall is currently 3 feet higher than ground floor level, so the main living
areas, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms etc were located at first floor level for gravity discharge
as well as enjoying the fine views at this level. The spaces at the first floor front (studio) and
back (lounge) are open onto the central double height space.
The woodland setting enables this building to be appreciated on its own, particularly in the
summer, when you wouldn’t imagine you were within a town. The long thin shape of the site
continues beyond its south east end boundary as a separate shared narrow woodland belt
almost all the way to Tuddenham Road. This was once the southern boundary of the earlier
extensive Red House grounds. It is a natural habitat for a range of indigenous fauna and flora.
The design thus combines a bold spacial concept executed in a practical and effective manner,
within a sympathetic context. After nearly 50 years we understand it is still in good condition.
CONCLUSION
It is hoped that the above summary with the enclosed drawings and photographs give a cogent
justification for the retention of this unusual building.