Béton HousE, PARK HILL, SHEFFIELD S2

A housing estate that brought "streets in the sky" to Sheffield, designed by Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn Sheffield Corporation City Architect's Department and built between 1957 and 1961, Park Hill was one of the most ambitious inner-city housing projects of its era housing over 3,000 people in 985 flats.

The collapse of the steel industry – Sheffield's biggest income provider and employer – in the 1980s brought the radical ideals of Park Hill to an end. As money ran out, pubs were boarded up and the labyrinth of passages and decks became the perfect place for antisocial behaviour, vandalism and crime.

Threatened with demolition, the fortunes of the complex changed in 1998 when Park Hill was granted a Grade II* listing by English Heritage, making it the largest listed building in Europe. Property developer Urban Splash took over the buildings and commissioned various architects to renovate its dilapidated interiors. Shown here is the final stage of the scheme, a conversion to student housing by Whittam Cox Architects and student housing developer Alumno.

Brawne House, Kennington, SE17

Situated to the east of Kennington Park, the Brandon Estate was built in 1958 by the London County Council to designs by Edward Hollamby. At the time it was an attempt to regenerate ‘the decaying and lifeless south bank of the Thames’.

Brawne House, one of six 18 storey towers, shows a textural mix of bush hammered and precast concrete finishes, with strong horizontals and tripartite vertical patterns, along with a range of solid and glazed balconies.

Alton estate, roehampton SW15

Built on a large expanse of parkland on the edge of Richmond Park, the social housing at Alton Estate was a direct translation of Le Corbusier’s idea of the Ville Radieuse  (or park city) with sets of "point" and "slab" blocks surrounded by parkland below.

The ‘floating’ slab blocks shown here were heavily influenced by Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation and were completed in 1959.

They are now grade II* listed.

BASILDON NEW TOWN, ESSEX SS14

BROOKE HOUSE, BASILDON

Elevated on 8 massive V-shaped concrete pylons, Brooke House is a 14 storey tower block and forms the largest structure in the new town's town centre. It was chosen to have a residential function, as opposed to commercial office space, to retain life in the town centre after the shops had closed.

Dating from 1962, it was designed by Sir Basil Spence and Anthony B Davies, chief architect and planner to Basildon Development Corporation.

Grade II listed (1998)

FREEDOM HOuse, Basildon

East of Brooke House is East Square, a sunken open-air public plaza accessed from Brooke House by a monumental staircase and a curved ramp. Freedom House (shown here) fronted the east side of the square and contained shops on two levels, and the north side by the Post Office building, a 5-story structure. On a wall of Freedom House is the oldest piece of public sculpture in the new town: installed in 1957, it is a wire and aluminium relief by A. J. Poole titled 'Man Aspires'.

Freedom House was a good example of the Festival of Britain style which flourished in the 1950s. Whilst the structures which define and provide access, such as the ramps, steps and pebbled retaining walls were grade 2 listed, some of these, along with Freedom House itself, have since been demolished to make way for new development.

10-20 Town Square, Basildon

Southgate House, Town Square, Basildon

47 East Walk, Basildon

SOUTH HILL PARK, HAMPSTEAD NW3

A private house, designed in 1958 by Brian Housden for himself and his family and built between 1963-65.

A striking use of materials: in its heavy concrete frame and extensive use of glass lenses, the house adopts a range of materials which creates an extraordinarily unconventional brutalist aesthetic.

Lillington Gardens, Pimlico SW1V

Constructed in phases between 1961 and 1980 to a plan by Darbourne & Darke, Lillington Gardens stretches the considerable length of Vauxhall Bridge Road and is perhaps the last of the high-density public housing schemes built in London during the post-war period.

Unlike the rational post second world war town planning of slab blocks set in landscaped open spaces at Churchill Gardens, Lillington Gardens Estate in contrast attempts to reintroduce human scale, variety, natural materials and urban spaces. The design uses brick and multiplies it into advancing and receding balconies, whilst a myriad of intriguingly interlocking flat and maisonette plans are set along ‘roof streets’ with planted gardens.

The estate was designated as a conservation area in 1990.

Built between 1963 -77, the design of this large housing estate in south London embraced concrete prefabrication, the separate circulation of pedestrians and traffic and generous access to sunlight and natural ventilation.

Some of these ideas can be seen in this set of illustrations, where concrete maisonettes have dedicated garages along the ground floor, a communal stair leading up to deck access from where access to maisonettes above and below is gained.

Unfortunately many of these design principles have lead to the estate’s decline and it is therefore being slowly regenerated.

THE ECONOMIST BUILDING, SW1a

A grouping of three towers of varying heights arranged around a raised public plaza, originally home to The Economist magazine.

Designed by Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1964, each building is concrete framed, expressed with bold uprights running from the top of the buildings to meet the floor. The ground level is recessed occasionally and canted at the corners. 

The Economist Building’s Portland stone facades, grey colours, splayed corners and projecting ribs demonstrate the traits of the International Style.

The building was granted Grade II listed status in 1988

DAWSON’S HEIGHTS, DAWSON’S HILL, SE22

Ladlands, part of a large social housing estate of nearly 300 flats that sits on top of Dawson’s Hill in East Dulwich.Forming a dramatic landmark in South London, the ziggurat-style brick scheme ensured that two thirds of the flats had views in both directions and all had views north towards the city. The varied height of the blocks, rising to twelve storeys at their central peak, made sure that every flat received sunlight even in deepest midwinter. Designed by Kate Macintosh and built between 1964 and 1972.

Coverley Point, Vauxhall Walk SE11

Coverley Point (1966) is a 13 storey tower that forms part of the Vauxhall Gardens Estate.

The duplex arrangement set on pilotis hints at a Corbusian influence.

Wyndham Estate, Camberwell SE5

Laird House, one of five 21 storey towers on the Wyndham Estate. Designed by architect Colin Lucas for the Greater London Council in 1966.

Similar tower designs were repeated on other estates around South London, including the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, Canada Estate in Rotherhithe and Somerset Estate in Battersea.

THamesmead SE2

Thamesmead was London County Council’s bold attempt to build a new town to address the city’s housing shortage after the Second World War.

Rising from London’s Erith marshes in the mid 1960’s, the danger of flooding lead the original design to place all living spaces at first floor level or above, interconnecting dwellings with raised walkways and leaving the ground level of buildings as garage space or plant rooms.

Just like the Aylesbury Estate (illustrated below), some of these design principles have contributed towards the estate’s decline and it is therefore slowly being regenerated.

METRO CENTRAL HEIGHTS, ELEPHANT AND CASTLE SE1

Metro Central Heights, formerly Alexander Fleming House, was built in 1959-67 as offices for the Ministry of Health by the architect and designer Ernö Goldfinger RA.

Converted into housing 2002 and n July of 2013 it was designated as Grade II* Listed

LAMBROOK HOUSE, PECKHAM SE15

Six storey block fronting Peckham High Street containing 39 dwellings.

The Clifton Estate [Tyne Terrace Site, Stage III], by the Greater London Council Department of Architecture and Civic Design; designed from 1961 by the London County Council Architect's Department, built in 1967-70.

THEATRE ROYAL, YORK YO1

A 1967 extension by Patrick Gwynne that added foyer and café spaces on two levels to serve the existing theatre building adjacent.

Its glass walls reveal an internal forest of concrete columns whose mushroom profiles produce the impression of pointed arches when seen in perspective, subtly alluding to the late Victorian Gothic brick façade of the actual theatre building.

Perronet House, Elephant and CastLe SE1

High density social housing designed by architect Sir Roger Walters KBE, commissioned by the Greater London Council and built in 1969 for Southwark Council.

It was one of the last mid twentieth century comprehensive redevelopments at the Elephant and Castle that had begun a decade earlier and included high rise commercial, educational and government establishments.

Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate, South HAMPSTEAD NW8

The London Borough of Camden Council was gaining a reputation for progressive social housing design during the 60s and 70s. This estate, designed in 1968 by Neave Brown, comprises of two parallel pedestrianised streets and three, 300 metre long terraces. The largest of the three shown here at seven storeys high and built in a ziggurat-style, backs onto the West Coast mainline to block the noise of passing trains.

It is regarded as an important example of social housing in Europe and is now Grade II* listed.

CAMBRIDGE STREET, PIMLICO SW1V

On a street of predominantly stucco houses sits no. 76-78 Cambridge Street, designed in 1969 by architects Peter Foggo & David Thomas, who shared a passion for the work of Mies van der Rohe. It is a small infill site comprising of two maisonettes framed by an external concrete grid with a smoked glass infill.

Trellick tower, Golborne Road, NORTH KENSINGTOn W10

The adjoining perpendicular seven-story block to the iconic 31 storey tower, with the same brutal concrete characteristics.

Ernö Goldfinger’s concrete masterpiece was completed in 1972 and was granted Grade II* listing in 1998.

robin hood gardens, poplar E14

Designed in the late 1960’s by Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972, this major housing scheme consisted of two long linear blocks with homes spread across ‘streets in the sky’, one at 10 storeys (shown here) the other at 7.

An unsuccessful attempt to get a listing status in 2009 unfortunately means that the whole estate is now being redeveloped - the 7 storey block has now been demolished.

The Macadam Building, the strand WC2R

An exposed concrete facade to the King’s College London University’s Macadam Building, previously housing the student union now home to the university’s arts, humanities and law faculties.

Designed by architects Troup, Steele & Scott and completed in 1975.

GUILDHALL WEST WING, CITY OF LONDON EC2V

The L-shaped wing to the west of Guildhall Yard was designed by Richard Gilbert Scott and constructed between 1969 – 75. It houses the City admin­is­tration and a ground-floor library of books and manuscripts relating to the history and archi­tecture of the capital.

The busy, textured quality achieved by the repetition of vertical fins echos the gothic form of the old Guildhall.

THE NATIONAL THEATRE, SOUTH BANK SE1

An urban landscape of interlocking terraces and a carefully refined balance between horizontal and vertical elements. A striking perspective as seen from the steps leading to Waterloo Bridge.

Designed by architect Denys Lasdun and completed in 1976.

102 PETTY FRANCE, WeSTMINSTER SW1H

A big, assertive brutalist office block on Petty France in Westminster, overlooking St. James's Park, currently home to the Ministry of Justice.

The heavy massing of the projecting first and second floors presents a striking bunker-like solidity.

Designed by Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, with Sir Basil Spence, and completed in 1976.

WESTLAKE, SILVERLOCK ESTATE, South BERMONDSEY SE16

Completed in 1979, by the London Borough of Southwark Architects’ Department under Hans Peter Trenton, the Silverlock Estate consists of numerous mid-rise blocks of flats between 4 and 6 storeys in height.

The blocks are constructed out of concrete with brick masonry facings. The length of Westlake creates an imposing frontage onto Rotherhithe New Road

Maiden Lane Estate, Camden, NW1

Located on a former Kings Cross railway goods yard, the Maiden Lane Estate is the final social housing development by the Camden Architects’ Department.

Comprising of 225 dwellings, phase 1 (shown here) was designed and delivered by Gordon Benson and Alan Forsyth between 1976-81. The development, which mixes terraced houses, maisonettes and flats has a distinctly Corbusian feel, where white painted concrete volumes with deeply gridded facades of railed terraces provide a distinctly nautical feel.