Balfron Tower
| Balfron Tower | |
|---|---|
Balfron Tower, a prominent example of Brutalist housing
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| General information | |
| Type | Residential flats |
| Location |
London, E14 United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′49.1″N 00°00′31.7″W / 51.513639°N 0.008806°WCoordinates: 51°30′49.1″N 00°00′31.7″W / 51.513639°N 0.008806°W |
| Construction started | 1965 |
| Completed | 1967 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 84 metres (276 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 26 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Ernő Goldfinger |
Balfron Tower is a 26-storey residential building in Poplar, a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Built in a Brutalist style, it forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel. It was designed by Ernő Goldfinger in 1963 for the London County Council, built 1965–67 by the GLC, and has been a Grade II* listed building since 1996. Balfron Tower is stylistically similar to Goldfinger's later Trellick Tower in London.
Balfron Tower is 84 metres (276 ft) high and contains 146 homes (136 flats and 10 maisonettes). Lifts serve every third floor; thus, to reach a flat on the 11th, 12th or 13th floors, residents or visitors would take a lift to the 12th. The lift shaft sits in a separate service tower, also containing laundry rooms and rubbish chutes, and joined to the residential tower by eight walkways.
The maisonettes are on floors 1 and 2, and 15 and 16, causing a break in the pattern of fenestration on the east side.
The service tower is topped by a boiler room. In 1985 the original concrete boiler flutes were replaced with metal, due to concrete decay.
Carradale House (1967–70) is an adjacent, unique, modernist building, also designed by Ernő Goldfinger and Grade II listed. The two buildings appear to be natural extensions of each other, linked by style and design, with the long, low form of Carradale House complementing the height of Balfron Tower. All flats have dual window aspect and large south facing balconies, allowing plenty of natural light, and decorated with natural wood panels on the sides. The block is 37 metres (121 ft) tall with 11 floors, and contains 88 flats. The building has a similar podium to Balfron Tower, albeit more extensive with a large underground car park underneath. It too has sky bridges on the same principle of access at every third floor. After designing Balfron, Goldfinger identified all the possible improvements and incorporated them first in Carradale House and afterwards to Trellick Tower. Like Balfron Tower, the robust nature of the detailing to this building has helped it to weather the passage of time. Carradale underwent an extensive and careful renovation, that lasted three years under the supervision of English Heritage and the direction of PRP Architects.
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