Walter Segal

Foundations are minimal, often just paving slabs, the strength coming from the geometry of their construction. Segal houses have been compared to traditional Japanese houses.

• Name — Walter Segal • Born — 15 May 1907 • Birthplace — Berlin, Germany • Died — 27 October 1985 • Place of death — London, England • Occupation — Architect • Known for — Segal self-build method • Father — Arthur Segal • Illustration — Segal-designed apartment building that replaced an earlier building destroyed in the Blitz, Knightsbridge, 1957

Segal was born in 1907 in Berlin, Germany, and grew up in Ascona, Switzerland, as the son of the Romanian Jewish painter Arthur Segal and artist Ernestine Chavas. They spent the time of the First World War in Ascona close to an alternative community called Monte Verità. Walter Segal studied architecture among the pioneers of the Modern Movement in Berlin and Delft, Netherlands, and received his first commission in 1932 from a patron of his father, Bernhard Mayer, to build a small wooden holiday cabin in Ascona. This was followed by further commissions in Ascona and later in Majorca. In 1934–1935 he worked in Egypt studying and illustrating dynastic chairs and stools, primarily those from the tomb of Tutankhamun. He moved to London, UK in 1936 where he met and eventually married Eva Bradt, a student at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He taught at the school, wrote in trade journals, published a couple of books and had a few small architectural commissions. He worked on commissions for furniture and interior design and during the war he designed air raid shelters and hotels for the Ministry of Supply. He lived in Highgate, London, and their son, John, was born in 1948. By then Segal had built his first main building, which was a block of flats in south London. Eva died in 1950.

• Illustration — Historic Segal self build house at Walter's Way in Lewisham In 1963 Segal married Moran Scott, who also lived in Highgate. To gain more living space, they eventually demolished and rebuilt Scott's house. They built a temporary structure in the garden using standard cladding materials and with no foundations other than paving slabs. It took two weeks to build and cost £800. This house, dubbed the "Little House in the Garden", roused considerable interest and led to a number of commissions using a similar style around the country. As the system developed the clients were able to do more and more of the building themselves. In the 1970s Lewisham Borough Council made three small sites, unsuitable for mainstream housing, available for people to build their own homes using the method. Due to the success of these a fourth site was later made available.

The authorities additionally record the heading Walter Kurt Segal. His recorded language was English. He was the child of Arthur Segal.

Home and environment / [Walter Segal]. Recorded as architect.