Golden Lane Estate

The texture and colour of the facing materials used were key aspects of the design. Pick-hammered concrete and expressed load-bearing brick cross-walls gave depth to the elevations whilst the use of opaque glass cladding created interest through colour. As the architects’ ideas developed, the design of the blocks became more robust and textured with bush-hammered concrete which was later used on the Barbican Estate.

Great Arthur House was, and remains, a key element in the design, emphasised by its rooftop canopy, rooftop garden, pool and pergola. It was the first tower to exceed the 100 ft height restriction and was, for a time, the tallest residential building in London.

The architects sought to create a sense of spaciousness inside the tightly planned flats by using features such as sliding partitions between living rooms and bedrooms in Great Arthur House and staircases within the living rooms in the maisonettes. The plan-form of the flats is an important part of the special interest of the buildings on the Estate.

Chamberlin, Powell and Bon were equally concerned about the spaces between the buildings as the buildings themselves.

The landscaping of the Estate was radical, creating hard landscaped areas on different levels that responded to the different forms and uses of the surrounding buildings. Structures within the landscaping, such as the bastion, are important to the character of the Estate and are also listed.

English architecture of the early Twentieth Century was dominated by the concept of the Garden Suburb but bomb damage and the social and economic changes following World War II led to new approaches in planning, design and provision of housing. Chamberlin, Powell and Bon rejected traditional ideas and sought to create an urban village with high density housing and a clear definition of planned spaces: private, public, transport, pedestrian, retail and community facilities.

 

 

 

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