Ten out of ten

摘要

'Somers Town is an outdoor museum of social housing,' explains architect Adam Khan. 'The area hasn't gentrified. It's mixed, with lots of children. It suffers from overcrowding; not enough balconies and outdoor space for the many flats. People don't want to let their kids play on the street. In the 1920s, the area was a focus for Jeffrey Jellicoe - a missionary priest, reformer and a pub landlord -who set up here to pioneer social housing. He coined the phrase: "Housing is not enough. You need social infrastructure".' Jellicoe's work expanded into all fields -including rooftop playgrounds for nursery schools and artwork for housing projects. This approach or motto has also been a driving force behind Khan's project Central Somers Town Community Facility and Housing. It is the practice's second scheme in the area, which comprises the often-forgotten block of streets between St Pancras and Euston stations to the east and west, Euston Road to the south and Camden to the north. It's densely populated, yet can be eerily quiet at times for such an inner London location.