Garages in Residential Areas

Garages in Residential AreasAuthor(s): Robert TurnerSource: The Town Planning Review, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jul., 1959), pp. 145-160Published by: Liverpool University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40102275 .

Accessed: 25/06/2014 03:31

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Liverpool University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The TownPlanning Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.49 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:31:49 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=lup

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40102275?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS

by ROBERT TURNER

too long the garage has been treated as a necessary evil and relegated to

any odd piece of ground that is superfluous to the housing layout as such. But the private garage, either attached to the house or in groups, is here to

stay and is here in large numbers. It forms a permanent feature of our life and will therefore take its place amongst the familiar building forms of our residential areas. Under such circumstances it must, if possible, be exploited for any positive contribution it can make to the appearance of new housing development. In this article I propose to discuss solutions to the problem of how many garages should be provided and where and how they should be located, assuming single storey provision at ground level.1

Scale of Provision

The first question to be answered, if possible, is how many garages should be

provided, but a simple ratio of population to number of cars is not likely to give a direct indication of the need. The present population of Britain is about 49,800,000 and the number of private cars about 3,750,000. Assuming that

approximately 10 per cent of dwellings have one garage each, the relevant

proportion becomes about one car (or garage) to six dwellings. This is of course a national average which varies from about 1:12 in the north to probably 1 14 in some southern counties. The new towns are a case in point: at Harlow, where

development commenced on the standard of one garage to five dwellings and

subsequently modified to one to four, planning is now proceeding on the basis of one garage to two dwellings or an even higher standard, although these are not all built in the initial stage.

The most difficult problem is to attempt to forecast the future position in order to arrive at a standard for present purposes, also to decide where to draw the line in the future years. Some time ago I made a calculation for the year 197^ when the population is likely to be £1,700,000 and with an estimate I was given of some 6,000,000 cars by then, I arrived at a figure of one garage to 3^ dwellings. But two recent checks have revealed a rather different result. At the last Motor Show the President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers stated that the industry's aim is for 1 car to two families in 10 years. This would mean somewhere about 8,000,000 cars on the road in 1968. A further approach is to calculate the effect of the 8 per cent annual increase in car ownership, which has been revealed in recent years. Again using 1968 as the target year we obtain a figure of over 8, £00,000 cars! Whether the President made a similar calculation or was

assessing the industry's capacity is not known; but for the first time in mv

experience two projections into the future car population coincide, or nearly so.



146 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS july

Figs. I and 2 - Two examples of current American practice where parking spaces are provided at a rate between 50 per cent to 100 per cent of dwellings.

Fig. I. Fig. 2.

Perhaps it may therefore be permissible to base an assumption on the higher figure and guess that there is likely to be a ratio of one car to i\ dwellings in io vears time.

Projection estimates of car ownership are of course notoriously unreliable and no matter how carefully one tackles the subject they always seem to be low. For example I recently saw an official estimate made in 19^0 that in 20 years from then the number of cars would be about 3-^ million, yet we had 3^ million over 12 months ago. Let us rejoice that man is unpredictable in his habits but he gives planners many headaches. Although from experience one is very cautious these days of underestimating the subject there is an aspect that must not be

forgotten, but where perhaps economists can help us. At the Symposium on Vehicles in Housing Areas, organised by the Architectural Association in i9££, Mr. C. H. Dodson, Housing Superintendent at Coventry, referred to the possibility of local authority housing ceasing to contain a cross section of the community and

becoming concerned with the lower income groups - with a consequent reduction of a demand for garages. Perhaps this envisages the restoration of the national

housing programme to its former place in society. On the other hand the Govern- ment no longer recognises the term 'working class' as applied to housing provision and perhaps society wishes its housing programme to cater for people in all walks of life and income levels. Experience in the new towns may not be typical of the

country as a whole but may be a pointer; certainly people from all walks of life are accommodated in the subsidised dwellings, but 1 think their incomes are not widely divergent. The population is generally speaking young and will contain many professional people at a salary less, for the moment, than many manual workers engaged in industry or construction. This may however not be significant to the problem discussed here.

The incidence of two cars per dwelling is not unknown, even today, but the effect of this on the number of garages needed for state-aided housing must surely be very small. On balance the standard of one car in two dwellings would seem to be the minimum target for present and immediate provision for at least the next 10 years. Yet there is obvious urgency for the discovery of a system of construction that will achieve cheap multi-storey garages and not only for central areas.



i9j9 ROBERT TURNER 147

Fig. 3 - Basic garage la/out. Fig. A - Use of corners to accommodate motor-cycles,

scooters, etc.

The land requirements of garages at the rate of one to two dwellings is approximately 470 square yards per 1,000 inhabitants, including access and waste. In

Figure 3 which shows a conjectural arrangement on average space requirements, we see that for 10 garages about 2,730 square feet is required, the size of three

average gardens! At a time when thought is being given to the subject of how to increase

residential densities, yet retaining reasonable amenities of light, air and verdure, the effect of garages can no longer be ignored. There should be no great difficulty of absorbing garages into schemes of low or even medium density, since with the use of flats up to say 4 storeys less land is needed for building cover and access ways, in central areas with high density flat development it will prove extremely difficult to provide single storey above ground garages on a satisfactory scale.

Until recently the Minister of Housing and Local Government has been reluctant to sanction more than a very small proportion of garages to be built, but

happily he too seems to have recognised the demand, for there is now no embargo on their provision providing a reasonable demand can be proved. I say happily primarily from the planners' point of view since later provision presents difficulties of space, disturbance to settled areas and entails extra cost, but no doubt the fact that garages show a good return as a letting proposition has not been overlooked.

Form and Siting We have seen that the standard of one garage to two dwellings may prove

inadequate in a short while, and in order to preserve the layout in its original form it is imperative that expansion room be left for further garages should the demand arise. These obviously cannot be ideally situated in relation to any given dwelling but with careful thought can be placed on the perimeter of the area or adjacent to local open spaces, the site being clearly marked on published plans as such, for good public relations purposes and avoidance of later misunderstandings or battles. It is better however if some use can be made of the land in the mean- time in case it should become associated with a public need and so difficult to win back for its intended use. When new estates are laid down, the incoming popula-



i48 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS july

tion is invariably fired with an enthusiasm to grow things and therefore demand

ample allotment space. If after a few years this enthusiasm wears off, there may be quite a number of authorities secretly embarrassed with surplus land of this nature - excellent sites for garages! An alternative is for certain gardens adjacent to existing hardstandings being oversize initially, the tenants clearly understanding that their gardens may be reduced should the need arise.

No mention has been made of parking spaces or lots as opposed to lock-up garages, since I am doubtful whether such a solution would be acceptable on any scale in this country; obviously more cars can be parked in the space occupied by garages, forecourts and access roads than is accommodated by one per garage and circumstances may therefore force us to change our habits. In older centres this will undoubtedly be the only solution to a desperate need. Garages do cost

money and although they fulfill other functions than simply storing the car, the

pressure of space and rising costs may well make one garage per car a luxury. However, parking lots have their problems and local authorities may shy away from their provision. A parking lot to show a return must be properly managed and controlled; this implies hard surfacing, drainage, fencing and screen land-

scaping. The consumer therefore will require a space available to him at all times in return for his rent, but this is more difficult to achieve than it sounds. To avoid unauthorised use, every tenant must have a key and it only needs one bad tenant to lose his key or leave the gate open and the whole system falls down. In addition, compounds are favourite playgrounds for children and there are often complaints of cars being tampered with, or there is a forgetful owner who leaves his car unlocked ; in addition to which there is the problem of drivers who are careless in their parking habits. Unless therefore, the authority is willing to lay down areas for free parking, the provision of lock-up garages is eventually arrived at after taking precautions to avoid the snags mentioned above.

The range of private vehicle types today may call for a revision of the com-

monly accepted form of lockup garage, for apart from the usual family car, other forms are becoming extremely popular. There are the familiar light cars and three-wheelers in addition to which the * bubble ' car from the continent is to be seen on our roads in increasing numbers. Also motor cycles with and without sidecars, scooters and mopeds must now be accommodated. Whilst it is reasonable to assume that motor-assisted cycles and certain of the lighter mopeds may be

kept in the house store, the heavier varieties will obviously require special treatment and the variety of types suggests that the present system may be wasteful in space and structure. Figure 4 shows a possible answer in which the internal corner has a roofed communal space subdivided with wire cages that can give security to the contents, whilst the external appearance of the group is improved by the expression of the change of function. On the management side a flexi-

bility of letting is achieved but the required provision can only be assessed from

experience conditioned by the rise or fall in popularity of scooters and their

companions. On the question of siting the most convenient arrangement is obviously for



I9£9 ROBERT TURNER 149

the garage to be attached to the house, either within, at the side or at the rear but this will only be possible on a very limited scale for normal state-aided housing. Where this ideal can be achieved the three storey house with the garage forming part of the ground floor area has many advantages. Access from garage to house is immediate and there is a marked improvement in scale and appearance of the area. In the scheme for Ghyllgrove 3 at Basildon, mentioned later, there are £3 three-

storey houses, out of a total of 376 dwellings, each with a garage forming part of the ground floor. In the main however, reliance must be placed upon garages in

groups. This poses the questions: how many in each and how far from the

dwelling? Although cost prompts maximum concentration, groups containing more than 30 tend to become oppressive in use and in their surroundings. Also difficulties of access arise since a single access road for this number concentrates traffic at one point. If, to avoid this, a second access road is suggested there seems no reason why the group should not be split up thereby achieving a more even distribution throughout the area.

Opinions differ widely upon how far the garage should be from the dwelling. A balance must be struck between maximum convenience (i.e. attached to the

house), and the financial saving of maximum grouping, preferably biased towards the former. I have heard it said that if a child can walk £ mile to school why shouldn't father walk the same distance to his car; but I submit that entirely different considerations apply, for one thing the journey commences when

reaching the place where the car is stored, apart from problems of parking for short periods and servicing the vehicle. My own inclination is for a maximum distance of i^o yards for a few limited cases and less wherever at all practicable.

Housing Layouts : The Basic Plan

In 1950 Professor Gordon Stephenson prepared layouts for a number of

housing areas at Wrexham. These were in my opinion quite significant, and readers will be conversant with his theories and experiences from his account in the Town Planning Review, January 19 £4. His main concern arose from considerations of safety and environment. He saw the basic problem as a need to

separate pedestrians from vehicular traffic and prepared a most interesting and informal layout based upon Radburn principles. He pioneered the idea in this

country giving encouragement to a more general acceptance. Garages, although not provided in great numbers, were well distributed and conveniently placed and were no doubt adequate for the particular conditions prevailing at the time. The principle which he employed languished for some years until architects became aware of the pressing garage problem and started seriously thinking of solutions, when attention naturally turned towards his designs, since here was a new principle accepting the appearance of the motor car. What should be more natural therefore than for a scheme based on this principle to accept the storage of the motor car?

J. Lewis Womersley of Sheffield has always been a believer in the Radburn



-n

r n> r» 3" a>

o -o o

s. < o

-o

o 3

>

pi

GO 3"

I Q.



o

O >

> o ir>

Z

m

5 m Z H > r1 >

m >

5



1959 ROBERT TURNER 151

Fig. 6 - Area 64. Radburn Close, Harlow.

idea and is at present working upon a scheme for Netherthorpe, in the centre of Sheffield. Generally speaking he seems to be the closest adherent in this country of Radburn principles, but he places more emphasis on a landscaped walkway between houses rather than simple pedestrian access. (See description of Green- hill in Town Planning Review, October 1954). This often has a rather scattering effect and somehow seems out of character with our own conditions. Perhaps he has felt something of this himself; the scheme for Netherthorpe (Figure g) shows a most intelligent use of courtyard access, which coupled with a sloping site has given rise to opportunities for spatial relationships and great play with levels. In addition, advantage has been taken to place garages under dwellings. Both from an architectural and planning point of view this scheme should prove to be a piece of urban development befitting a central area. Greenhill, which is on the periphery of Sheffield, suffered from a deficiency of garages. In the Netherthorpe scheme, provision of garages is 1 to 4 dwellings, which can be increased later should there be a necessity. The present demand in Sheffield is for one garage to seven dwellings.

The New Towns have also made progress along these lines and early in 195s a design was prepared at Harlow for area 64 (Radburn Close) part of which is shown in Figures 6 and 7. The scheme was delayed by various circumstances but is now going ahead. As will be seen the layout is completely formal with pedestrian access and squares within the heart of the residential area, the squares



i £2 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS july

Fig. 7 - Area 67, Radburn Close, Harlow. View showing continuous screening and access courts.

themselves being formally laid out with landscaping, paving and perhaps sculpture. Taller blocks of 3 and 4 storeys have been introduced into the scheme to give variety and create interest, in some cases blocks are pierced at ground level to obtain framed views. On the garage question full use has been made here of the rear service courts to obtain 1 garage per dwelling ; and in the gaps where garages are not provided stores are located, thus obtaining complete privacy for the garden and isolating it from the bustle of the courtyard. The courtyard is used very much as a rear access and no attempt is made to create a further entry to the

dwelling equal in importance to the front door. In all cases the access to the

courtyard is taken as unobtrusively as possible between terraces, avoiding the

disruptive effect that would otherwise obtain. Leonard Vincent is also working upon a modified Radburn system for Elm

Green at Stevenage and here again is planning for 100 per cent garage provision, although only go per cent of these will be built at the outset. Like Harlow, the scheme is formal, having a central walkway system and a symmetrical system of cul-de-sacs penetrating the residential area from a perimeter road (Figure 8). The

courtyards are not quite so tight as at Harlow and open out at the end to give parking spaces. In one or two cases garages are placed facing onto the perimeter



1959 ROBERT TURNER 153

Fig. 8 - Site Layout, Elm Green, Stevenage.

road. This might tend to be a little disruptive in the general appearance of the area. At Basildon A. B. Davies has adopted a further variation for the Ghyllgrove 1

Housing Area and generally speaking more reliance is placed upon the cul-de-sacs

serving both front and rear of the houses (Figure 9), the pattern being more of

superblocks with a continuous and an informal outline. Within these superblocks garage forecourts of varying sizes are located and garage provision is not quite so high as the two previous schemes and is in fact at the rate of one garage to two

dwellings, half of which are to be built initially. From the previous examples one might be tempted to believe that we have

reached the end of the road on the problem of successfully introducing garages into state-aided housing schemes. But many people have felt that there are certain defects in the Radburn idea as applied in this country. This may account for the slow spread of the principle, but in the face of the desperate need to solve the

garage problem, further original thought is now being given as to how a solution can be arrived at which is at the same time accommodating and yet in accord with custom in this country. Lionel Brett at the A. A. Symposium on Vehicles in Housing Areas in November 1955 referring to the Radburn idea said:

'This leads to a superblock with a great green area in the middle containing at least a nursery school, so that the smallest children never need meet traffic, and pedestrian under- or over -

passes on the perimeter. The pattern is then completed by the familiar picture of the island neighbourhood, self-sufficient as far as its women and children are concerned, ringed around by green space and main roads. This is not the time for a critique on the whole conception of the neighbourhood, but I think everybody knows that this ideal pattern, which isolates the neighbourhood centre (which is the main traffic generator) from the main traffic routes, doesn't work in practice, and



i54 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL ARLAS July

| a

CD

2!

|

I



1959 ROBERT TURNER i$S

Fig. 10 - Ghyllgrove 3 Housing Area, Basildon.



i*6 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS July

Fig. II - Huntingdon, preliminary layout. Prepared by the L.C.C.



I9S9 ROBERT TURNER iS1

that we must still accept the older pattern of residential units threaded by traffic routes (suitably safeguarded) rather than by-passed.

The same objection applies I believe a fortiori to the Radburn idea in regard to the individual house group. American experience has shown that the 'mews* becomes the centre of life and fun; its hard surface attracts the children, and everybody approaches the house that way. Garden gates may be used by afternoon pram-pushers, but this is an expensive luxury in terms of land. For we must remember that Radburn layouts are of their nature very low density, and give us no help in that direction. Indeed I would say that for English conditions the Radburn idea stands condemned for that reason alone, quite apart from the lack of privacy in the garden, which I believe to be a basic English requirement.

Although some of the objections listed above have been met in the schemes

already described, I think the author was speaking for many of us who are not

completely satisfied with Radburn principles. He has, with his partner Kenneth

Boyd, followed his theory into practice and designed a most interesting layout for Basildon New Town at Ghyllgrove 3 (Figure 1 o). As would be expected he has

completely eschewed the Radburn idea and set out, in recognition of the dangers associated with the motor car, to break its speed by evolving a most intricate system of internal roads with narrow streets, sometimes 4^ feet wide, with

pedestrian links and squares between. There is much continuous frontage and from the layout it will be seen that a considerable number of three-storey houses are included, with garage-house forecourts. The appearance of these forecourts, whilst enabling cars to be parked clear of the footpath, if treated sensitively, as no doubt they will be, can add immeasurably to the appearance and replace the otherwise monotonous green strips. A high residential density has been achieved, 23 J dwellings per acre, whilst at the same time accommodating garages in 44 per cent of the dwellings. Although the scheme displays a refreshingly new

approach to housing layout, it is perhaps unfortunate that so many garages are located on road frontage. These have a deadening effect on the street and being single storey are insignificant, opening up the skyline ; in addition the outlook is somewhat unpleasant for the houses opposite. Sketches of the scheme appeared in the Architectural Review for October 1957.

A further attempt to break away from the rigidity imposed by Radburn principles has been made by Hubert Bennett for an out-county scheme for the L.C.C. at Huntingdon (Figure 11). Although superficially there may be a similarity between this and previous examples, further careful study will reveal that the layout is based on a system of service cul-de-sacs as opposed to service courts. As before, pedestrian circulation is separated from the road system with intelligent use being made of existing features on the site ; some 8$ per cent of the dwellings are terrace houses and 1 g per cent are flats ; and there is a total garage provision of 85 per cent for 85 per cent of the dwellings, but with a very economic road system. The density has dropped to 13.3 dwellings to the acre but nevertheless the scheme promises to achieve a tight intimate atmosphere.

There are, of course, dozens of schemes up and down the country where the need for the garage is not fully recognised ; but the schemes mentioned above demonstrate, I hope, that serious thought is at last being given to these problems,



i $8 GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS July

Fig. 12 Garages between house terraces.

Right: Fig. 13- Longfield, Harlow.

Fig. 14 - Area 20 Parsonage Leys, Harlow.



Fig. IS- Orchard Croft, Harlow (Harlow Development Corporation).

Plate 21

Fig. 16 - Garages, North brooks, Harlow. Architects, Powell & Moya (Robert Turner).



Fig. 17 - Semi-detached houses, with garage links, Wattington Road, Harlow. (Harlow Development Corporation),

Plate 22

Fig. 18 - Vicarage Wood, Harlow (Harlow Development Corporation).



i9S9 ROBERT TURNER 1^9

Fig. 19- Rivermill, Harlow. Fig. 20 - North brooks, Harlow.

also the channels into which such thought is being directed. To achieve a high ratio of garages to dwellings presents considerable difficulties but if accepted as a

challenge it can be the next major conditioning factor in our long history of

housing success.

Housing Layout : Detailed Siting Without a doubt the most economic form of garage layout is that shown in

Figure 3 which can be utilised in a number of ways. Figure 1 2 illustrates how the

principle can be followed in a rectilinear form of layout with the garages con-

veniently grouped between terraces. In this way there is almost no waste land in the shape of odd corners and the group can provide a break in the terrace line, if

necessary either with a set-back or a projection, also the continuous area of rear

gardens is broken up, securing greater privacy. Variations upon this theme can be seen on page 422 of the Architectural Review for December 19^6. The use of

long terraces and closed corners often gives rise to a rather squalid sea of rear

gardens upon which the living rooms invariably face. The arrangement shown in

Figure 1 3 can alleviate this difficulty by punctuating the enclosure whilst providing garages in a convenient location. One such scheme at Harlow has been seen to

generate a village atmosphere of friendly cooperation between car owners, who remain close to their homes and families whilst cleaning and servicing the car. A further method is shown in Figure 14 where the access to rear garages is taken through the terrace.

Even where garages cannot be located at the rear of dwellings and screened by them, they can often be sited with good effect, such as at Northbrooks in Harlow, where Powell & Moya have used the single storey form in combination with some very fine mature existing trees as a foil to four-storey maisonettes. (Figure 16). Modern principles of highway engineering demand that there shall be no development off major roads and in accepting this a major difficulty is created where back gardens invariably face onto the major road. Although planting can mitigate the depressing aspect of these rear gardens, it is some years before this matures and hides the gardens from view, also giving desirable



ibo GARAGES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS july

privacy to back gardens. Frederick Gibberd has used garages to help him solve this problem in his layout for Rivermill at Harlow (Figure 19) at present under construction.

1 Since the building industry on the continent seems to be capable of building multi-storey dwellings cheaper than single storey houses (the reverse being the case in this country), perhaps the same conditions apply for their garage construction; certainly in Great Britain we confine ourselves almost exclusively at present to solving the problem by means of single storey garages at ground Moor level. But as the number of cars increases, the amount of ground required may force the building industry to discover an economic method of constructing multi-storey garages.



Date post:	27-Jan-2017
Category:	Documents
Upload:	robert-turner
View:	216 times
Download:	1 times

Garages in Residential Areas

Documents