click on the links below to explore further

The Homes and Gardens Pavilion on the South Bank, the Land and Sea Travelling Exhibitions and the Exhibition of Architecture, Town-Planning and Building Research at Lansbury all addressed what the South Bank Guide described as 'one of the main problems of modern housing - the problem of space'. In proposing some solutions to this problem, these exhibitions advised people on how they might want to live.

planning the space

In a house which is built in a crowded city, planted on a teeming island, the space that can be used for twenty-four hours a day is more worth its keep than space that can only be used for eight. ('South Bank Exhibition' guide book)

Multi-purpose rooms were presented in the Homes and Gardens Pavilion as the solution to shortages of space in modern homes. The bed-sitting room was one such suggestion, the two-purpose kitchen another, a place where food could be eaten as well as kept and cooked. Presented as contemporary solutions, these actually reflected the ways in which space had long been used in working-class households. It was also suggested that efficient use of space could be achieved by developing contained elements within rooms. A 'parlour-substitute' in a corner of a room, for instance, would allow the display of family photographs and mementos for the benefit of the nostalgic. Meanwhile the restriction of the spread of light or sound from 'passive entertainment' forms such as the radio or television would allow 'other people in the home who would rather not be entertained just at that moment can get on with what they are doing without being distracted', seemingly promoting the idea of individuals occupying themselves separately within the household.

filling the space

This dawn of a new age estate was open to the public to view. Eagerly visited by Mum, Dad and Children oohing and aahing at the new kitchen with modern cookers and appliances. Compared with the scullery back home and the kitchen coal range this really was like the Hollywood films. A bathroom to yourself? No queuing on Saturday morning at the public baths, for these lucky tenants. Oh and just look at that, a toilet inside! My, that's what I call posh. (contributor Dave Garred, aged 23 in 1951) Why not contribute your memories?

The three-piece is of entirely new design, consisting of a settee, one armchair, intended for the man - comfort being the key note - and the other for the woman, which gives firm support to the back and ample elbow room for sewing, knitting and the other spare-time occupations which fall to the lot of the housewife. ('The 1951 Furnished Flat' by the London Co-operative Society)

At Lansbury a Show Flat was furnished by the London Co-operative Society in close co-operation with the Council of Industrial Design. The furniture displayed was designed to be durable, easy to clean and affordable. It was intended to be within the reach of the ordinary visitor rather than something unattainable to admire, although there can have been few visitors able to entirely equip their homes in this way. Much thought had clearly been given to the roles of the household members and particularly to easing the traditional domestic life of the wife, through functional chairs, easy to clean surfaces and cheery colour schemes in the kitchen in which she spent so much time - no hint here that times were changing!

The Council for Industrial Design also played its part through the validation of 20,000 goods selected for their quality of design, practicality and economy, so providing advice about how people might best spend their money. 10,000 of these items featured somewhere within the Festival exhibitions while all were detailed in the Design Review which was displayed as part of the South Bank Exhibition.