The bin rooms at Rowley Way
The high northern boundary wall of Alexandra Road turns its back to the West Coast Mainline. Inside, a fortress-like double glazed window set into the built-in wardrobes in their own nooks are intended to serve as a barrier to railway noise. The 8 storey block is designed to shield the rest of the estate from the railway and sits on rubber foundation pads to reduce vibration from the passing trains. At the base of this great concrete edifice is a service road, separated from the pedestrian only street on Rowley Way. The service road allows refuse workers to collect rubbish from the bin rooms and garages tucked below Rowley Way. Reminiscent of the regency houses that inspired Neave Brown a formal stair leads onto Rowley Way and a hidden circular inner stair leads down below into the subterranean realm of bin rooms and garages. Alexandra Road was originally designed to provide a parking space for every property on the estate. In 1968, when the Conservative Party took control of the council, the number of parking spaces was increased to provide additional garages for residents of Ainsworth Estate. The subterranean counterpart to Rowley Way is punctuated at intervals by gaps created by planters which allow patches of light from the bright street above to filter down below. Beneath these light shafts, small calcium deposits form stalactites bearing down upon the garages. At the northern boundary along the service road, are large glass bricked offices for caretakers and gardeners. Three of these punctuate the 650m length of Rowley Way and each open up onto bin rooms with large circular chutes that open directly to the service road below.
Some residents fear this space, preferring to send other family members down to the bin rooms. For other, more transient residents, the bin rooms (accessed via the service road) provide a sheltered space for rough sleepers who light fires around the built-in mini amphitheatre style curved benches to keep warm. For others, the contrast between the glass bricks, the round chutes and the multi tone tiling make the bin rooms look and feel like a neglected spa. These spaces act as a barrier, a site of fear, and a site of refuge while also sheltering residents in different ways.
Chalcots was designed with a Garchey waste disposal system built into sinks. While the Garchey system is no longer operational, its piping still exists, built into the bowels of the blocks. Alexandra Road was designed with bin rooms that aimed to separate but also invite conviviality and being-together with caretakers and other residents. In contrast, Hilgrove has bin chutes more often seen on 1930s walk up blocks and unadorned, often locked bin rooms at the base of each chute.
[Link to Alexandra Road Estate]
[Link to the Railway]
