Trellick Tower

I am glad Trellick tower is close to ours and I’m happy we have a good friend living there, because when the Zombie apocalypse is gonna hit, where am I gonna run to?- Trellick tower! is the answer.
It’s tall and tricky to climb. Many stairs and elevators with loads of buttons– zombies can’t use those things. tee-​hee.
Anyway, back to serious things: Trellick tower is the most famous piece of council house architecture in London.
It was designed by Erno Goldfinger in 1966 for the «Greater London Council». Erno based his design on Trellick’s sister from East London– Balfron Tower.
The whole construction was completed in 1972 and the tower consists of 31 storeys and 217 flats. Woohoooo!
But things were never like this: even though Trellick is considered an arhitectual symbol, in it’s notorious heyday it was known for the (social) problems, racial tension, troubled youths, rapes and drugs.
Lookie here, the Guardian describes it perfectly:
«With luck, one of the tower’s three lifts would be working. Fresh graffiti, used condoms and a passed-​out vagrant might have been waiting inside when the doors parted. The 12-​person aluminium box, shaped like a coffin, would grind upwards at 1.5 metres per second. Often it would stop at the wrong floor, open into darkness and the sound of dripping water, then resume the ascent. One Christmas, vandals on the 12^th floor opened the fire hydrant and unleashed thousands of gallons of water into the lifts, blowing fuses and leaving the block without electricity, heat, water or toilet facilities. Grind up another three floors and you would be where a 27-​year-​old woman was dragged from the lift and raped. Down the same corridor a depressed young mother jumped to her death. On the 21^st floor, an 11-​year-​old girl was dragged from a lift into the chute room and attacked.
If there was a figure huddled in a doorway, it was best not to check. It could have been a prostitute waiting for business, an addict shooting up, an imminent squatter or a neighbour, fumbling for a key. This was Trellick Tower. To newspapers it was the Tower of Terror or Colditz in the Sky, to residents it was hell»
I hear, the most memorable story about the Trellick Tower (compared to the horror– the Shining wanna be other stories) was a the man who parachuted from the 30^th floor, but sadly, he didnt make it.
(
the rest of the article, it’s really good.)
As this article puts it, «Trellick’s transformation is the closest urban renewal gets to fairytale — one which planners hope will become a model for Britain».
The actual flats are like puzzles. Also, the sliding doors to the balconies are just amazing and the terraces are big. I wish i had one… :(
After 1999, a big changed happened and just look at it now! — Trellick is sparkling! it’s clean and safe, it’s adored by architects and photographed by tourists, it’s painted by local artists (who gives all his masterpieces to the tenants), it appears in movies and adds.
Trellick Tower is absolutely brilliant.

One of my favourite buildings in London. A brutalist masterpiece and, having worked for the council managing this block for 6 years, I can honestly say this block is an example of how good design can deliver liveable, quality housing. The flats are spacious, open plan and well designed with large windows and lots of natural light.

Simple in design, yet overt and audacious in appearance. Adored by the few and depised by many. If the Trellick Tower doesn’t illicit a strong emotional response within you, then you are dead.

quite intriguin interstin experience. worth chekin out

Couldn’t agree more, this is just one of the most fascinating buildings in London; currently partly covered in scaffolding. Unforunately, you can’t just walk in and have a snoop around. Trellick Tower is usually included in Architecture Open Weekends — expect long queues. The wait is worth it — I’ve been on a guided tour to a couple of the flats and the roof, and my childhood dream of living in a tower block when I grow up reawakened.