In 1933 the first "Bata houses" for workers were built, set among gardens in a chequerboard pattern, which were distinct from the more typical Victorian terraced housing in the area.
The factory's architecture "predates" and "perhaps eclipses" other British examples of modernist architecture such as Highpoint I or the Isokon building, according to The Guardian.

Built of welded steel columns, roof trusses and reinforced concrete walls, the estate's buildings were quite atypical of other red-bricked and sloped-roofed London suburbs.
All the social needs of the workforce were met by the factory, and "Bata-ville" had all the services of a normal town, including a theatre, sports facilities, hotel, restaurant, grocery and butcher shops, post office, and its own newspaper.
The Czech architects František Lydie Gahura and Vladimír Karfík were employed to design the buildings on the site.
In 1933 the first "Bata houses" for workers were built, set among gardens in a chequerboard pattern, which were distinct from the more typical Victorian terraced housing in the area. The factory's architecture "predates" and "perhaps eclipses" other British examples of modernist architecture such as Highpoint I or the Isokon building, according to The Guardian. 
Built of welded steel columns, roof trusses and reinforced concrete walls, the estate's buildings were quite atypical of other red-bricked and sloped-roofed London suburbs. All the social needs of the workforce were met by the factory, and "Bata-ville" had all the services of a normal town, including a theatre, sports facilities, hotel, restaurant, grocery and butcher shops, post office, and its own newspaper. The Czech architects František Lydie Gahura and Vladimír Karfík were employed to design the buildings on the site.
Bata shoe factory