Boundary Estate, Social housing complex in Tower Hamlets, England.
The Boundary Estate consists of a group of red brick buildings arranged in a radiating pattern around a central garden, designed with arches, bay windows and decorative facade elements. The blocks are named after artists and reformers and are connected by footpaths and squares that provide space for trees and small green areas.
The London administrative body built this housing area between 1893 and 1900 on the site of a crowded neighborhood that had been demolished. It was the first project of its kind that a municipal authority realized in the city and it influenced later approaches to urban housing policy.
The name comes from the former administrative boundaries that ran through this area when the land was redeveloped. Residents still use the outdoor spaces today as meeting points and places to rest, while the passageways between blocks show the daily life of the neighborhood.
The central garden provides orientation as all paths lead toward it and from there you can easily reach the surrounding streets. The paths between the blocks are level and pass through open areas, so you can move without obstacles.
The construction workers used the rubble from the demolished buildings to create artificial hills and raise the ground level, so that the new apartments sit above the damp soil. This method helped avoid problems with moisture and gave the land a slightly undulating profile.
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