London 1981
Peter MARSHALL
Trellick Tower, Golborne Rd, North Kensington,
1981
27s32: flats, tower block, Kensington
You can click on the image to go to the next picture
Commissioned in 1966 by the Greater London Council and designed by architect Ernö Goldfinger, Trellick Tower on the Cheltenham Estate was completed in 1972. The tower is 98m (322ft) high and there are 217 flats. A much lower building on the site (at right) contains shops and amenities.
A remarkable design both in general and in detail, Goldfinger separated the stairs, lift, refuse chutes and mechanical plant into a slim service tower connected to the main service block at every third level. The flats, of 9 different types, are all on two levels and all have balconies. Steps inside lead up or down from the bridge level to the main rooms of the flats. The interiors are spacious, and unusually for the time were built double glazed, and the window units pivot to allow easy cleaning of the exterior glass from inside. The flats have many space spacing features designed by the architect.
In the early years the block got a terrible reputation for crime, and at the time I took this picture was often referred to as the 'Tower of Terror', but the formation of a residents association in 1984 started a turnaround, first by persuading the council to fit an entry intercom system, and then to engage a concierge.
Perhaps surprisingly the building was only Grade II* listed in 1998, but fortunately this protected it from the installation of the flammable cladding which turned a small fire at Grenfell into a terrible major disaster. A similar fire at Trellick in 2017 was isolated and quickly dealt with, causing little damage and no loss of life. Goldfinger's design, similar to that in his Balfron Tower in Poplar, also makes the tower inherently safer.
Built as council flats, some of them were sold to occupiers following Thatchers disastrous 'right to buy' but most remain as social housing. Flats seldom come on the market but when they do command high prices.
This view of the tower always reminds me of a swan. It is believed to have been the inspiration for J G Ballard's dystopian novel High Rise, written in 1975, not long after it opened, and more recently made into a film. I've long been a Ballard fan, though I think High Rise is one of his weaker works.
A remarkable design both in general and in detail, Goldfinger separated the stairs, lift, refuse chutes and mechanical plant into a slim service tower connected to the main service block at every third level. The flats, of 9 different types, are all on two levels and all have balconies. Steps inside lead up or down from the bridge level to the main rooms of the flats. The interiors are spacious, and unusually for the time were built double glazed, and the window units pivot to allow easy cleaning of the exterior glass from inside. The flats have many space spacing features designed by the architect.
In the early years the block got a terrible reputation for crime, and at the time I took this picture was often referred to as the 'Tower of Terror', but the formation of a residents association in 1984 started a turnaround, first by persuading the council to fit an entry intercom system, and then to engage a concierge.
Perhaps surprisingly the building was only Grade II* listed in 1998, but fortunately this protected it from the installation of the flammable cladding which turned a small fire at Grenfell into a terrible major disaster. A similar fire at Trellick in 2017 was isolated and quickly dealt with, causing little damage and no loss of life. Goldfinger's design, similar to that in his Balfron Tower in Poplar, also makes the tower inherently safer.
Built as council flats, some of them were sold to occupiers following Thatchers disastrous 'right to buy' but most remain as social housing. Flats seldom come on the market but when they do command high prices.
This view of the tower always reminds me of a swan. It is believed to have been the inspiration for J G Ballard's dystopian novel High Rise, written in 1975, not long after it opened, and more recently made into a film. I've long been a Ballard fan, though I think High Rise is one of his weaker works.