85-91 Genesta Road are four terraced houses, in the London Borough of Greenwich

London Borough of Greenwich

The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...

, located south of Plumstead

Plumstead

Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...

, north of Shooter's Hill

Shooter's Hill

Shooter's Hill is a district and electoral ward in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. It lies east of Blackheath and west of Welling, south of Woolwich and north of Eltham...

 near Plumstead Common

Plumstead Common

Plumstead Common is a common in Plumstead, in the London Borough of Greenwich, south-east London. It is bound to the north by Old Mill Road and to the south by Plumstead Common Road. To the east lies Winn or Winn's Common...

, and are the United Kingdom's only modernist

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 terrace, designed by the architectural pioneer Berthold Lubetkin

Berthold Lubetkin

Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex, London Zoo penguin pool, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate.-Early years:Berthold Lubetkin was born in Tiflis into a Jewish...

. The houses were among the first attempts to re-design the traditional English house with the benefits of concrete construction. They are listed grade II*.
85-91 Genesta Road was the first domestic project in the U.K. undertaken by Lubetkin. Built between a 19th century terrace, the site was previously an orchard and its most principal feature is its height and the dramatic, almost precipitous fall to the north, giving spectacular views far across the Thames from the rear of the property. Neighboring Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 cottages overcome this site by having steps that lead up to a first floor, relegating the ground level to a basement. Lubetkin, however, had the ingenious plan of making the entrance on the ground floor and having a spiral staircase leading up to the living room. This arrangement thus gives full frontage to the living room and provides off street parking next to the front door.

The bulk of the accommodation is on the first and second floors. The party walls and the intermediate columns are articulated in counter play with the horizontal concrete window band that projects at living room level. Relieving curves at the entrance and the cyma bedroom balconies are typical characteristics of Lubetkin's work, occurring in other buildings such as Highpoint I

Highpoint I

Highpoint I was the first of two apartment blocks erected in the 1930s on one of the highest points in London, England at Highgate. The architectural design was by Russian-born architect Berthold Lubetkin, the structural design by Danish engineer Ove Arup and the construction by Kier.Highpoint I...

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