New London Vernacular
Name for an architectural style of housing developments in London / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New London Vernacular is the name given to an architectural style of housing developments, observed in London, England, from about 2010.[1] The style has a number of characteristics, notably flat elevations faced in brick cladding, portrait-shaped recessed windows, and the maximisation of homes having front-doors opening onto the street - all features found in London's extensive Georgian and Victorian terraced housing.[2][3][4]
Although New London Vernacular has diverse antecedents, its development hinges primarily on a 2009 draft London Housing Design Guide published by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.[2][1][3] The guide makes an explicit call for the development of a New London Vernacular, albeit framed in terms of design principles and rules, rather than mandating a particular architectural style.[5] Convergence on a singular style meriting its own appellation arises in part out of a perception that there exist few housing development solutions for high density housing that are appropriate to a broad range of households, and in part out of the exigencies of design, construction and sales risk minimisation after the 2008 Great Recession.[2]