Points(andslabs) of interest Sarah Buckingham discusses the reasons for conserving modern movement public housing. Since the introduction of the Thirty Year Rule, post-war, public sector housing in the form of flatted blocks has been signalled as a building type worthy of conservation by the statutory listing of key examples of the genre. One of the earliest such listings was Keeling House in Bethnal Green, listed in 1993, followed by a small number of post-war public housing blocks over succeeding years. At the end of 1998, the largest batch of listings of Modern Movement public housing to date included Trevelyan and Sulkin Houses in Bethnal Green (seven storey cluster blocks); the Roehampton Estates of Altons East and West, with their respective slab and point blocks; Trellick Tower in North Kensington; the long va1y-storied slabs of the Park Hill Estate in Sheffield; and Lillington Gardens in Pimlico. These estates and blocks are undoubtedly paradigmatic examples of architectural and historic interest of national significance; however, the controversy with which successive tranches of listings have been greeted has been publicly and sometimes heatedly aired, and reflects the mixed reception that such blocks have had since their inception. The problems that the group as a whole is perceived to pose concern their often unwelcoming appearance, unfortunate contribution to the townscape, and their unsuitability as a living environment for an often unwilling population. These, may, indeed, be substantive problems, presenting conservation practitioners with the apparent paradox of a developing interest in conserving the special qualities of examples of a building form in which, at best, these very qualities may render it unpopular, and, at worst, may be the instruments of its significant functional failure. So, as these listings are becoming accepted, if not universally welcomed, it is, perhaps, time to consider this distinct and peculiar category; the implications of listed status for their role in the realm of public housing; and to consider whether they require any special approach to maintain them as examples of fine architecture and manifestations of the political, Context65 March2000 • ifift!t A~ Fig. 1. KeelingHouse.One of theearly listingsof publicsectorhousingin 1993. Note decayand brokenwindows. social and architectural ideology of their time. Detailed consideration of the practicalities of conserving and managing such blocks was based on three examples: Goldfinger's mighty tour-de-force, Trellick Tower in North Kensington (completed 1972); its close cousin Balfron Tower in Poplar (completed 1967); and Lasdun's innovative cluster block, Keeling House, in Bethnal Green (completed 1959). Some new challenges were revealed, while others, more familiar, were recast in a novel setting. The major issues can be summarised as follows. Preservationofcharacter The special architectural character of these buildings was determined by design and construction choices influenced by the tenets of the Modern Movement: huge dimensions and monumentality of scale, Spartan plainness, and a regular repeated grid of beams, balconies or fenestration are common features. Such design choices have created common CONSERVING TWENTIETH CENTURY BUILDINGS perceptions of an unfriendly, unreadable, indeed impersonal environment. Problematic design elements include: lifts and lobbies used by large numbers of people; pilotis or integrated garages, raising the blocks above ground level and limiting surveillance of entrances; estate layouts with no street pattern, comprising randomly disposed blocks in open areas; the presence of raised walkways linking blocks; unsupervised facilities such as play areas or communal garages. All these are likely to increase opportunities for and temptations to abuse. Thus preservation of special character will have to be carefully weighed against concerns about the quality oflife of residents, and any changes must carefully attempt to reconcile these sometimes conflicting concerns. Examples where this has been successfully negotiated include the introduction to Trellick Tower of a concierge and faster liftswith integral security devices, alongside reinstatement of the lobby, including Goldfinger's trademark stained glass work. Management Plans can potentially play an important role in protection of character by clarifying for residents the acceptability of minor personalising changes to interiors; knocking through between adjacent lavatories and bathrooms; window replacements; installation of satellite dishes, etc. Physicaldeterioration Expediencies of cost and speed, plus aesthetic decisions, sometimes resulted in the choice of relatively untried construction techniques and materials for these blocks, with ramifications for the appearance, weathering capacity, or even stability of the blocks in the long term. For example, the almost ubiquitous reinforced concrete was quick to lose its pristine appearance in favour of dull, rain-stained drabness; while leaking of joints between cladding panels or water ingress on flat roofs are all problems commonly associated with modern flatted blocks. In Keeling House, for example (Fig 1), the original construction has not 21
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