Here's a 1966 film,
The Design of Space, made for town planners. We are treated to marvellous shots of new towns – Cumbernauld, Crawley and Stevenage – and old cities being given major facelifts – Birmingham, Coventry and Plymouth. Basic fads of the day are explained, from pedestrianised shopping precincts to towers springing up in parks. And the footage is beautiful: municipal flower beds in bloom, pristine shopping centres, snickets and underpasses. Anyone with a fondness for postwar design would enjoy this crackly beauty.
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| Kildrum in Cumbernauld being built |
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| Cumbernauld |
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| Crawley Queen's Square |
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| Deerswood Court, Crawley |
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| Crawley in the rain |
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| Birmingham being rebuilt |
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| Smallbrook, Birmingham |
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| Flowers in Crawley |
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| Coventry |
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| Coventry |
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| Plymouth's civic centre |
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| Municipal mowing |
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| Towers in the park |
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| The metropolis rises through the grain and scratches |
And then two thirds of the way through the film fades down and then back up again, and suddenly we're in the world of practical tips for landscape architects. Except that these are very specific tips, mainly involving municipal lawnmowers and how best to plan for their use. And then it becomes clear: the film's sponsors are Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies, manufacturers of lawnmowers and agricultural machinery. And so the last third of the film is an almost formation display of mowing, which, after all, was something postwar Britain was brilliant at.
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