Trellick Tower

LDNiCON

LDNiCON is about celebrating Londons architectural endevours and uncovering the quirky, sometimes seemingly bland, components of the city. We are not focused on headline city architecture, rather, second course servings of London’s buildings and the spaces between them. These components represent the mass of the city and contribute more to the spatial experience than well-recognised buildings in London - the experience that most Londoners live through in their day-to-day existence. This is what we are most interested in.

Each month we will share our findings; experiences and ideas of what we think make architectural icons in the city of London.

Trellick Tower

Location : North Kensington, London
Built : 1972
Architect : Erno Goldfinger

What's hot :The transformation of this building from a seemingly terrifying social housing disaster to a highly desired local cult icon of architecture and living.
What's not : The now empty boiler room at the top of the tower was refused planning permission to be refurbished into a penthouse apartment.

Standing at 31 stories above ground, Trellick Tower looks down upon its low lying neighbouring buildings. It is a prominent feature in the West London skyline.

The Greater London Council commissioned Erno Goldfinger in 1966 to design a building to house 270 council flats. It was constructed during an experimental period in social housing when building high was thought to save construction time, building cost and rapidly increase housing density to meet a growing demand. The end of the experiment came swiftly as high-crime rates and anonymous living environments created by high-rise housing broke down the community living in them. This was witnessed in many high-rise council developments, Trellick Tower included, and high rise towers soon became highly undesirable places to live. Crime was rife in the tower where security was virtually absent. Its reputation as the ‘Tower of Terror’ was enhanced by media coverage of events from in and around the building; women raped in elevators and drug addicts in the stairwells.

Recent years has seen the community come together with the installation of a concierge and other security measures. A number of the flats have also been sold off to private owners. With its now retro architectural heritage and iconic value of the building, it is now a highly desirable place of residence.

The flats are large by high-rise standards. Space is always at a premium in London and these flats comprise of many space saving features. Internal glass and wooden doors slide in and out as opposed to having sweeping door areas which iare largely unusable. Large swathes of glass throughout the flat allow plenty of daylight into the space. The flats have balconies and those at the top of the tower have grand views of the city.

The building takes a rectangular form, thin in profile and comprised of two towers which are separated from each other. One tower houses the lift and building services whilst the other houses the flats. The accommodation is linked to the service tower every third storey with a bridge. Access to the flats above and below each ‘bridge’ floor is via internal staircases.

It is raw in its appearance with its blocky facade and exposed concrete facade. Absent of any curves, it is mass of concrete is articulated with the windows frames and the structure of balconies. It was designed in true Modernist fashion, many regarding the ‘Brutilist’ architecture ugly and aesthetically offensive in the skyline. Others regard it as a monument to the revival of the Modernism during the 70’s.

Trellick Tower acts as a bit of a architectural gateway into the city of London. Commuters and tourist arriving into Paddington station by rail are treated with a clear panorama of the southern facade as they roll into the station. It suggests of more architectural delights to be found within the haze of the city.

Its brown and grey colour rendering, raw concrete face and uncompromising shape shout out at the neighbouring landscape. It isn’t subtle, but it is cool. The inclusion of Trellick tower in the lyrics of songs by Blur, its frequent appearance in music videos, TV adverts and films is a testament to its street worthy ‘urban cool’ credentials. This combined with its history in social disorder, participation in an architectural experiment and frequent references in the conservation of London residents, makes this is an icon for London.