Walters Way Open Day

Residents to honour pioneering architect - 21st September 2008
The residents of a pioneering South London housing scheme are paying tribute to the architect who designed their homes with a day of public events in his memory. Walters Way, a private road in Honor Oak Park, will be open to the public as part of London Open House, in which buildings of architectural interest around the capital can be visited. The day will be an opportunity to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the housing project and 101 years since the birth of the street's architect Walter Segal.

Two houses will be available for the public to look inside, where they will see the typical timber frame structure of these distinctive two-story homes. The day will also be a chance learn about the life and work of Walter Segal with talks by those who knew and worked with him. The days activities will feature a demonstration of the Segal construction method, an exhibition, a film and refreshments.
Resident Dave Dayes built his house twenty years ago. "Building our own houses was an inspiring and life-changing experience. We still have a real community spirit here that is unusual in London. We want the public to come and see for themselves the work of this remarkable architect who empowered us to create this unique place."

Architect Walter Segal developed a system of construction that enabled people to build their own homes at low cost. Walters Way was built in the 1980’s by people on the housing waiting list on land unsuitable for conventional houses. Some of the builders still live in the houses they built while others have been sold on. The Segal method is based on a traditional timber frame adapted to use standard materials. It removes the need for wet trades such as bricklaying and plastering resulting in a light-weight houses which can be built by people without construction experience.

Walters Way, SE23 3LH will be open from 12noon to 5pm (last entry 4.45) on Sunday 21st September. The workshop will be on the morning of the same day.
The nearest train station is Honor Oak Park.

E-mail for more info. Thanks to fellow green drinker Ian from Walters Way for sending me this. For info about the Open House weekend in general, take a look at their website.