Level 2 Historic Building Recoding, 17 Luttrell Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B74 2SP

All work was carried out in accordance with Historic England specifications in Understanding historic buildings: a guide to good recording practice (Historic England 2016) and the Chartered Institutes for Archaeologist's Standard and guidance for archaeological investigation of standing buildings or structures (CIfA 2014). A site visit was made on the 1st August 2025, when the principal exterior elevations were photographed. The interiors were photographically recorded to include significant structural details. A selection of these photographs are presented in appendix 1 and are referenced in the text of the report. The location of these photographs is shown on figures 4-6 which are based on architect's plans supplied by the client and subsequently annotated. Handwritten descriptive notes were produced on-site to record the findings of the physical investigation. The notes recorded details such as the fabric, form and function of the structure, along with evidence of any alterations and development over time. The written account comprises the building's construction, present and former use, and where appropriate, the building's past and present relationship to its setting in the wider landscape. Formal detailed historical research was not within the remit of this report. Provision was made for sufficient initial documentary research in order to enable the overall research aims to be realised but these were not extensive and were limited to existing secondary material. Number 17 Luttrell Road is a good example of post war avant-garde modernism which stands in contrast to the traditional architecture elsewhere within the Four Oaks estate. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the devastation of bombing raids combined with a shortage of skilled labour and suitable materials led to a housing crisis in the UK. This was initially addressed by building prefab houses. However, when brick and timber became widely available again in the 1950s and 1960s, there was pressure to build more permanent housing quickly and cheaply, and an opportunity to do things differently. There was a clear rebellion at this time against the applied decoration of pre-war housing, particularly the 'Mock Tudor' style with its oak beams, leaded windows and pebbledash rendering. There was also a concerted effort to move away from older Victorian and Edwardian styles of housing which were considered dark and dingy. By contrast, architects of the 1960s experimented with bold shapes, daring layouts and open plan interiors. Designers of private housing usually pushed this much further than council estates, with the latter characterised by boxy straight lines. Modernist architecture was a big influence on housing design in the 1950s and especially the 1960s. It emerged as a movement in the early 20th century, but came to dominate architecture after the Second World War, right up until the 1980s. This movement was all about embracing the new and looking to the future. Modernist architects rejected ornamentation, embraced minimalism, and introduced structural innovation into housing design. Above all, modernist architecture was about function and how spaces could be used practically. There was a fashion for a mixture of materials, inspired by the work of Marcel Breuer and Scandinavian architects, including large plate glass windows, built-in hardwood fixtures like dividing units and shelving, brightly coloured wall panels and contrasting flooring. Under the influence of modernism, domestic houses of the 1960s were large, modern with wide windows and were flooded with light. Houses often came with garages, a large driveway and both rear and front gardens. Architects in the 1960s also experimented with the concept of open plan living, and a combined lounge/diner became very popular. No.