Interview with Chris King

Chris was appointed as a quantity surveyor at MKDC in December 1971. He recalls early days at Wavendon Tower, and the difficulties of house building: the need to meet Parker Morris standards and the housing cost yardstick, which conflicted with MK’s plan for low-density housing. The lack of a resident labour force in MK increased costs. Chris worked on Galley Hill housing; then joined the Northern Towns group, for the Fullers Slade terraces with architect Wayland Tunley; Chris describes the design problems and Wayland’s solution. They discuss reasons for cladding Fullers Slade in wood, rather than brick, as in Galley Hill; Chris notes the shortage of bricklayers at that time. He contrasts the Northern and Southern teams’ housing designs and construction materials. Chris comments that Wayland’s favourite architect was Frank Lloyd Wright so he favoured more traditional styles. Chris worked with Wayland on Greenleys, Hodge Lea and Stacey Bushes, all using Mowlem builders. On the Cofferidge Close development in Stony Stratford Chris was responsible for the cost planning. Then the Wolverton Agora, a ‘request out of the blue …for a multi-purpose building’ : something new for Wolverton. Chris discusses the design process in detail: an initial design based on a building in Eindhoven, was abandoned; the final design was in red brick.

Chris talks of architect Pierre Boschi, and his avant-garde designs in fibreglass: Bletchley market and the sports pavilion in Wolverton, which came to be known as ‘The Pineapple’ – and had leakage problems. Chris notes that MKDC subsidised it: ‘…it was a fairly cheap form of construction’. When working on Neath Hill housing, Chris comments that many consultant quantity surveyors complained that the housing could not be built within the yardstick. But Chris was able to adjust and reduce the costs. By then, Chris notes that the Ministry had introduced ‘fluctuations’ to the yardstick. He recalls discussions with the Ministry surveyors about new housing schemes, and adjustments he was able to agree with them.