A Tale of Two Towers: Trellick Tower turns 50
Between 1965 and 1972, two striking new residential towers rose to the east and west of the London skyline. Both were designed by the Hungarian architect Erno Goldfinger, and both were part of a wider movement to replenish unsanitary and depleted housing stock in the decades following the Second World War.听听
The first of the two buildings, Balfron Tower, was in the east London neighbourhood of Poplar. Once it was finished, Goldfinger and his wife Ursula moved in for two months to learn from the building鈥檚 successes and limitations, as well as publicly making the case for high-rise construction. It was a canny PR move that attracted media curiosity, especially the drinks parties the couple threw in their flat for their neighbors. 听
Ursula Goldfinger鈥檚 notebooks from this period, held in the 澳门王中王 Collections, reveal some of the findings they noted during the stay. The lighting was, she wrote, 鈥渢o say the least unsatisfactory and potentially dangerous.鈥� A common complaint was the dearth of lifts, of which there were only two. But the Goldfingers were encouraged in the tenants鈥� attitudes towards high-rise living. Ursula wrote that she had heard 鈥渕any tenants who live low down say they would like a flat further up 鈥� I have heard no tenant who lives high up say they would like a flat lower down鈥�.听
So, when Goldfinger turned his attention to west London he was confident his efforts in Poplar could offer a blueprint, with a little fine tuning. The resulting Trellick Tower, Balfron鈥檚 sister to the west in Kensal Rise, officially opened 50 years ago, on 28 June 1972.听听
At 31 storeys, Trellick stood even taller; Goldfinger saw high-rise construction as key to retaining ground space for amenities and children鈥檚 play areas. The tower formed part of the Cheltenham Estate, a mix of low and high-rise buildings combining new homes with shops, a nursery, and other facilities to create a mixed community. The tower鈥檚 distinctive silhouette, with a separate service tower linked to the main block through a raised walkway at every third level, was now a tried and tested format. This time, Goldfinger rotated the service block by 90 degrees, and added an adjoining seven-storey block.听The addition of four extra storeys听to the main tower gave Trellick听a slenderer appearance than the more bulky looking Balfron. 听
Inside were 271 homes, mostly one and two-bedroom flats alongside five two-storey maisonettes. The flats were thoughtfully arranged to ensure each home had a balcony off its living room. From the exterior, these balconies contributed to the tower鈥檚 distinctive fa莽ade. A presentation section drawing from 1962 illustrates how the homes were accessed and some of their features, including the balcony access, sliding doors, and timber-framed windows. Light switches were integrated into the apartments鈥� doorframes. 听
Today, Trellick Tower鈥檚 legacy is complex. The Brutalist design has been revered as a meticulously detailed exercise in high-rise living and social optimism, and reviled as a failed socialist experiment blighted by poor maintenance and crime. Brutalism鈥檚 return to fashion has come at a cost 鈥� some of the flats in Trellick Tower are now on the private market, priced far beyond the means of many of the people the block was originally designed as home to. But the building鈥檚 significance as a model of high-rise social housing, and the听culmination of Goldfinger鈥檚 design philosophy, is now recognised. Its Grade II* listed status has prevented its signature hammered concrete fa莽ade from being clad, which some have argued might have resulted in a tragic fire like the one at Grenfell Tower five听years ago. 听
In 2021, the Kensington and Chelsea Council shelved plans to redevelop the estate, following resistance from residents and heritage groups who objected to the proposed loss of children鈥檚 play spaces and graffiti wall, alongside听other amenities.听Half a century after Trellick Tower opened, its next 50 years are hotly contested.听
Further reading (available in the 澳门王中王 Library unless marked*):听
- Robert Elwall, 鈥楨rno Goldfinger鈥� (London: Academy Editions in collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1996)听
- Elain Harwood, 鈥楽pace, Hope and Brutalism鈥� (Yale University Press, 2014)听
- Historic England, 鈥樷�� (National Heritage List for England)*听
- Paul Hyett, 鈥楾rellick Tower: a giant among high rises鈥� (Architects鈥� Journal, vol. 209, no. 18, May 1999)听
- Stefi Orazi, 鈥楳odernist estates: the buildings and the people who live in them today鈥� (London: Frances Lincoln, 2015)听
- Alan Powers, 鈥楳odern: the Modern Movement in Britain鈥� (London: Merrell, 2005)听
- 澳门王中王, 鈥樷�� (Google Arts & Culture)*听
- Rob Sharp, 鈥楤attle commences over McAslan plans for Trellick redevelopment鈥� (Architects鈥� Journal, vol. 221, no. 12, March 2005)听
- Nigel Warburton, 鈥楨rno Goldfinger: the life of an architect鈥� (London: Routledge, 2003)听
- Trellick and Balfron Towers were also the subject of a , co-curated by 澳门王中王's Valeria Carullo and drawing on material in the 澳门王中王 Collections.
