Terraces of Edgeley

Pencil & watercolour on paper
50cm x 70cm

I am a practicing architect and school of architecture lecturer, tutoring student projects from Liverpool and Manchester to Hong Kong. With over 30 years in practice, I bring a wealth of experience to students of this practical art. I am currently developing a body of work in contemplation of the urban condition, with regular gallery exhibits and typological studies. These activities have in common through pedagogy, architecture, urbanism and its representation, the ambition to document current environmental governance and enrich studio with good civic sense, a diversity appropriate to architecture programs which value a holistic approach.

Two-storey terrace houses are the defining building type of Edgeley, their fronts an opportunity for both building standardization and decorative display. These façades also define the street, providing enclosure, security and urbanity. As speculative housing, one might expect repetition, but at least 84 varieties exist in the study area North of Castle Street, SK3.

The first impression is of SAMENESS; 2-storeys, brick façade, pitched longitudinal slate roof, chimney stacks, doorways mostly 900-1000mm, low level cellar window, 3 or 4 course stone lintel with chamfered lip, 2-course stone cill, some replaced with brick specials. But this is not a rigorous kit-of-parts, there are many cut bricks rather than fully coordinated dimensions. DIFFERENCE can be found in plot width, the average being around 4.5m but very few are exactly this, width and height of windows, string courses of different colour brick or corbel table or serrated or decorative terracotta, arched or lintelled doorways, the arch with or without springing stone or keystone, the voussoirs with or without coloured or decorative bricks, 1 or 2 first floor windows, bay window or flush (bays chamfered or square), and doorway left as a recess or filled to create porch. There seems to be no correlation between size of property and use of decorative elements.

The terraces are drawn at 1:100 scale, in pencil and watercolour wash; rather than CAD and Photoshop, and it feels good to do some olde worlde drafting. The wash technique allowed for a subtle variety representative of the houses.

This is not a designated CONSERVATION AREA. Should it be? Character is lost with each generation, with the incidence of unsuitable pvc windows and doors, fake fanlights, removal of central window columns, timber joinery, stained glass or original door casings with brackets. However the evidence is that designation would make little difference; the nearby Alexandra Park CA Appraisal cites, “retention of original building fabric”, and “limited palette of natural building materials and rich architectural detailing” as two of the strengths of the area, but a 56-page Character Appraisal and 17-page Management Plan appear to have no effect. As it is, the terraces are on balance well preserved without CA designation; plastic windows and doors absolutely dominate, but to date there are NO intrusive dormers and very few stone-clad/rendered facades.

For more info, mapping etc see: http://bit.ly/3purPqc