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53
only other reasonable explanation of the desire to push this principle
of no natural ventilation was because of some failure on the architectural
side to produce a suitable design, I tried to ascertain what in fact were
the accepted reasons for the proposal. In this connection I have been
informed as follows:—
From the Architect's point of view, the planning of bathrooms
and water closets internally in certain types of point and slab
blocks permits reductions in dwelling area by more compact
planning which reduces the amount of external wall and window
and, on balance, shows saving in cost. The reduced bulk of building,
particularly the considerably reduced frontage in slab blocks, facilitates
a more open planning of the site. Incidental advantages are
that condensation is reduced to a minimum, chilly draughts are
avoided and the risk of frozen pipes is eliminated.
The byelaws which control the method of lighting and ventilation
of water closets provide for an amount of air change which is,
by the nature of the system, quite independent of atmospheric
conditions or the whim of tenants. The requirements of three air
changes and a minimum extract rate of 750 cubic feet per hour is a
good one.
Mechanical ventilation has the advantage over natural means
in that a water closet compartment is ventilated at a regular rate
through the twenty-four hours of each day, quite regardless of
outside atmospheric conditions. In cold or wet weather it is general
to find windows in water closets closed, with the result that the
compartment is without effective ventilation. It is also a feature
of mechanical ventilation that there is a flow of air from the living
rooms, bedrooms, etc., towards the water closet compartment.
This is to be preferred to the reverse which can occur when winds
blow on to the face of the building containing an open window to a
water closet.
Much can be said against the points raised here and I have already
dealt with some of them in the objections to the system set out above,
but the principle of the proposal is one which can only be approved or
rejected over the years by the opinion of the members of the public
who have to live in such flats. I hope that my fear that these flats, at
present so outwardly and in most respects inwardly nice, will approach
the unpleasant sub-standard conditions before their proper time, will
be found to be incorrect.
Rent Act 1957
The Rent Act 1957 came into force on 6 July 1957 and the
following table shows the applications for certificates of disrepair
dealt with during the period ended 31 December, 1957:—