One of south London’s most famed modernist houses is for sale with The Modern House for £3.275 million.
Six Pillars, in Sydenham, is a white, minimalist concrete structure named after the six cylindrical pillars which support its overhanging first floor.
The property, now something of a local landmark, was designed in 1932 by Valentine Harding, a member of Berthold Lubetkin’s Tecton practice.
Lubetkin also built Highpoint I and II, both in Highgate, and the penguin enclosure at London Zoo, all of which are Grade I-listed.
Six Pillars was built for John Leakey, the headmaster of Dulwich College Preparatory School, and his wife.
It is the only modernist house on the street, and, at the time, the estate’s trustees were concerned that the building’s radical design would be “injurious to the amenities of the neighbourhood”, with its largely Victorian and Georgian properties.
Harding’s design was influenced by Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, built a couple of years earlier on the outskirts of Paris. It too has a blocky concrete façade supported by white pillars (known as “pilotis”), with horizontal windows to bring in light.
Six Pillars gained Grade II* listing in 1981 in recognition of its architectural interest. In 2000, it was restored under the direction of John Winter, architect of Highgate’s Winter House.
More recently, the property was extended by Smith Brooke Architects, who converted the garage into a self-contained, one-bedroom annexe.
Today, Six Pillars is set back from the road, covering 3,597 square feet over two main floors.
Inside, it is arranged around its original curved, sculptural staircase in the entrance hall, with a double-height square lattice window.
According to the RIBA Journal, this kind of window was a “typical Tecton device”, and also used in Highpoint I.
Downstairs, there is an open-plan kitchen and dining room covering around 500 square feet, as well as a lounge and living room with a bay of long, steel-framed windows and the original Art Deco fireplace.
There’s also the annexe, with poured concrete floors, an extra bedroom and its own kitchen and entrance.
The house’s five bedrooms are all upstairs, each with views of the garden. The fifth is articulated on the second floor, with its own shower room and access to the roof terrace, which spans the top of the whole building.
Six Pillars’ interiors have been modernised, but many of its original features still remain. Its 1930s chevron parquet floors run throughout the ground level, while its horizontal clerestory windows light the upper floor, spanning the length of the wall.
Outside, there is a long balcony which runs along the rear of the building, overlooking the garden, which was recently redesigned and landscaped by Marc O’Neill.
Six Pillars was last sold for £1.1 million in 2007, according to Land Registry records, although it was listed for sale in 2011.
“The architectural profile is characterised by an inimitable minimalist façade, ribbons of clerestory windows, and the six cylindrical pillars from which it takes its name,” says Georgia Grunfield, head of prime at The Modern House.
“Six Pillars is a very special property, widely regarded as one of the finest examples of modernist domestic architecture in Britain.”
