Keeling House started the 1990s emptied of its council tenants, with the windows boarded over, the for sale sign nailed up, and no developers from private or social housing sector willing to buy. A decade later, two-bedroom apartments in the former Tower Hamlets tower block are about to go on sale at the thoroughly upbeat price of £185 000.
True, Keeling House was designed by Denys Lasdun and so is not exactly a run-of-the-mill tower block, but its transformation from social housing’s pariah to luxury pads for London professionals is emblematic of the reappraisal of modern buildings that has been sparked by the process of urban regeneration. This reappraisal has been led by speculative developers, attracted by the low prices of such buildings and prepared to take a risk. Developer St George’s successful conversion of the former DHSS headquarters, Alexander Fleming House, into Metro Central at London’s Elephant and Castle has spawned a host of imitators, not only in London, but other urban locations.
At the same time the social housing sector is still determined to shake off the burden of high-rise and other non-traditional housing of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Birmingham City Council is currently carrying out a stock condition survey that could herald the demolition of many of its tower blocks.
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets decided long ago to sell Keeling House. London developer Lincoln Holdings took the risk of buying it. “This needed private money to make it viable,” says Keith Meehan, director of the company. “The cost of refurbishment and maintenance were frightening people.”
“Tower Hamlets council’s policy was to knock down tower blocks and replace them with low-rise, but the people who lived in Keeling House loved it,” says Steve Marshall, partner with Munkenbeck + Marshall, the architect behind Keeling’s refurbishment. “The problem with tower blocks is not the height - that’s glamorous - it’s that the lifts don’t work and that there’s no reception.”
The 15-storey tower is of an unusual design, a “cluster block” of four towers set at angles to a central core containing lifts, stairs and refuse chutes - all of the noisy functions in the building. Setting the four towers apart from the circulation core gave residents privacy and the arrangement of apartments predominantly as maisonettes - or as they would now more classily be known, duplexes - made the tower-block homes feel more like houses in the sky.
Today, the building is recognised as a design classic, but the entrance originally given to it in 1956 was particularly low key. “We collaborated with Denys Lasdun on the project and he said that the one thing that was missing was a waterproof and windproof reception,” says Marshall.
The new entrance signals the block’s shift upmarket. The architect has designed a glass-walled and steel-roofed lobby, surrounded by water. “We added water to make it more glamorous,” says Marshall. A fountain and herb garden will complete the makeover without excessive impact on the building.
The latter is important as Keeling House is Grade 2* listed. Apart from the new entrance refurbishment has mainly involved repairing concrete - the building is made from poured in-situ and precast concrete, and the in-situ concrete has spalled. The project team has been allowed to make some internal alterations. In typical 1950s style, the kitchen was originally separated from the dining area by a wall with a serving hatch, but that wall has been removed to create a more open plan living area. The bedrooms have had some reorganisation to allow fitted wardrobes to be installed. The developer is installing modern sanitaryware, kitchen units and electric heating, but there is no room to squeeze in ensuites.
The developer has managed to extract extra space by converting ground floor plant rooms, once used to provide power for the tower, to extra apartments, plus live-in space for an on-site caretaker. Similarly, top floor plant rooms have been converted to transform penthouse duplexes into triplexes that will sell at around £300 000.
The developer’s purchase now looks a good buy as property prices in the area have soared and tower block living is being perceived differently. “Tower blocks have become fashionable,” says Marshall.
Source
Building Homes