County Hall NORWICH

An applcation has been received by English Heritage for the inclusion of County Hall on the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The application was made by the 20th Century Society. This is an initial assessment of the building made by Stephen Heywood – Norfolk County Council’s historic buildings officer. However, this should be seen in conjunction with the research and assessment made by the 20th Century Society.

The 11/12 storey office building, designed by Reginald Uren in 1966, is an example of the International Style applied to muncipal architecture. It stands in relative isolation in the outskirts of the city of Norwich very visible in the landscape. It consists of a tall, dominant, rectangular block flanked by lower buildings some of which are contemporary with the main block.

The steel and reinforced concrete frame provides the aesthetic as well as the structural qualities of the building . The giant order, brick clad, principal stanchions divide the facade into ten bays with the end half bays supported, apparently in cantilever. Each bay is divided into four metal-framed windows lined with projecting glazed light yellow tiles. The storey is expressed with a soldier course of bricks with spandrels clad with darker yellow tiles.

The entrance to the building is expressed through its occupation of two storey levels and its glazed entrance plane is recessed leaving the principal stanchions apparent. The level is raised and reached by a long flight of steps (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.

The opposite façade reveals an extension of the lower storeys to provide an open terrace at the entrance level. The basement storeys are much in evidence from this side and consist of narrow, deeply-set, window bays divided by brick clad stanchions. The terrace is terminated by the wall of the members’ room which is impressively lighted by repeated vertical window recesses (Fig. 3). The buildings beyond to the east are later additions providing accommodation for the Norfolk Constabulary.

Fig. 3 The interior spaces of significance are all situated at the entrance level. The council chamber is oddly hemmed in on three sides and not expressed externally at all. The space has raked seating and skylights.

To the sides of the council chamber are other meeting rooms. There are two double lift shafts which divide the space leaving a large central area which originally was a clear area dominated by a large marble desk proudly displaying the county coat of arms.

Reginald Uren

Reginald Uren was a partner with John Slater at the time of the construction of County Hall. Beforehand he was with the well-known partnership of Slater and Moberly who were active from the early 1930s and were joined by Uren in the mid 30s on his immigration from New Zealand. It appears that Slater and Moberly were most skilled on contractual and practical matters whlst others were responsible for the creative side. This was certainly the case when William Crabtree designed the Peter Jones building on Sloane square for John Spedan Lewis. As for Uren the same situation was the case when he designed the award winning Hornsey Town Hall and adjoining electricity showrooms in 1935. This was at a time when the town hall at Hilversum in Holland, designed by Dudok in 1928, was looked to in the design of municipal buildings. This influence is particularly noticeable in the unfinished City Hall in the centre of Norwich designed by James and Pierce in early 1930s, built from 1937.

Uren’s other most important buildings were the Granada cinema in Greenwich of 1936-7 in conjunction with Cecil Massey, Rainers Lane underground station and, post war, the Sanderson building (now hotel) in Berners Street, London of circa 1957-60 (fig. 4). The latter is the closest in date to County Hall which is built of the same technique but very different owing to the use of the curtain wall at Sanderson, almost the hall mark of the International Modern Style. County hall, Norwich does not use the curtain wall except at the short ends of the main block where the principal columns are set back from the wall. Instead the columns are used as an important giant order feature and deliver very articulate surfaces. This is a delberate departure from pre war aspirations and acheivements in the International style – the epitome of it can be seen in the Peter Jones building in Sloane Square of 1936 by William Crabtree. The treatment is similar to the Sanderson building.

Fig. 4. Sanderson House

County Hall differs not only by it not using the curtain wall but even more siginifcantly, its use of brick and glazed ceramic cladding instead of the modern sheet materials of aluminium and stainless steel. County Hall’s principal special interest is this return to traditional materials despite the very modern construction technique and its ready use of plate glass. This is combined with the original treatment of the façades which are strongly articulated through the giant order stanchions and accentuated ceramic window linings. This is not at all typical of tall buildings of the 1960s.

All of Uren’s buildings mentioned are listed as follows:

Hornsey Town hall, Haringey, 1935, II* Granada cinema , Greenwich, 1937, II* Rainers Lane Underground sation, 1936, II Sanderson Buiding, Marylebone, 1958, II*

Stephen Heywood Historic Buildings Officer Historic Environment Service, Norfolk County Council 8 August 2012