Golden Lane Estate
Great Arthur House
Great Arthur House dominates the estate. It stand roughly in the centre and contains flats on 16 storeys - the highest block of flats in England at the time it was built. On side faces west towards Smithfield and nearer home overlooks Crescent House. The other side faces east towards the east end.
One strong feature of the design is the yellow cladding which runs right up the building. This is broken up by two columns of grey balconies running up both sides of the building. They are double balconies, one for each flat on either side.
The tower is raised in the centre so you walk underneath the house to come out in front of Crescent House or to reach the car parking area at the rear. The concrete at ground and basement level is painted black as for Stanley Cohen House. The estate office is located in the ground floor. There is an emergency telephone for contacting the police on the outside.
Even more striking than the colour is the curved concrete canopy on the top which looks as if a giant cowboy had put his hat on the top of the building. As one commentator noted, the block "even has a brise-soleil, a sort of architectural hat much used by Le Corbusier - even if there isn't much soleil to brise on this side of the Channel." The practical purpose was to cover up the water tanks on the roof.
Great Arthur House has 120 more-or-less identical 1 bedroom flats over 15 floors.
