It is good to see innovations in
housing design being applied to
the private sector; the ultimate test
of any new idea is that someone
should want to invest in it. All too
often in the past any
experimentation in housing design
was mainly confined to the public
sector. Lack of ‘market testing’ was
one of the main reasons why brave
experiments sometimes went
horribly wrong. All through those
years of experimentation, between
say 1955 and 1975, with the
exception of Eric Lyons' Span
housing, architects found fertile
ground in public sector – local
authority – commissions. It is only
now, with loads of government
encouragement, that major
developers are beginning to
sponsor new ideas in design, in
higher density, ‘joined up’ housing.