Balfron Tower

Balfron Tower

A high-rise block of flats and maisonettes designed by Ernö Goldfinger, built between 1965 and 1967 as phase 1 of the LCC Brownfield Estate.

The building is constructed of reinforced concrete with timber cladding to balconies and an asphalt flat roof. The concrete is bush hammered to a high standard with fair margins and radiused corners. Interior finishes include marble linings to the hall and sapele hardwood doors.

The tower accommodates 136 one- and two-bedroomed flats and ten maisonettes arranged across 26 storeys, with six units per floor. Five maisonettes are located on floors 1 and 2, and a further five on floors 15 and 16, creating a distinctive break in the pattern of fenestration and balconies. The units are served at every third floor by enclosed corridors or access galleries that connect to a separate detached service tower. This service tower houses lifts, rubbish chutes, laundry rooms, and former games, music and hobby rooms, topped by a boiler tower with a stepped profile and chimneys. One-bedroom flats open directly onto the access gallery; above and below, accessed by internal stairs, are dual aspect flats. A secondary stair is located at the southern end of the building.

The west-facing elevation, fronting St Leonard's Road, features balconies to every flat. The maisonette balconies on the upper floors are cuboid in form, projecting from the centre of each unit and creating a distinctive pattern. The original rectangular timber windows have a thick profile that contrasts with the horizontal rhythm of the balcony fronts. The rear east elevation expresses the access corridors at every third floor as a continuous band. Window units (later replaced but not to original specification) are grouped in threes with a full-height central light. The building was originally topped by a thick cornice, since removed. The service tower is lit by vertical slit lights arranged in groups of five, ten or fifteen on the west face and three or five on other faces. The boiler house and chimneys were altered early in the building's life to their current profile to provide capacity for the adjacent Carradale House. The main west entrance is approached by a concrete walkway and bridge with a tiled surface, set within a projecting pod with a hardwood door and vertical glazed panels (replacing original plate glass screens). An isolated projection on the east face originally connected to an east walkway providing a throughway, since removed, probably when the Blackwall Tunnel approach road was widened.

The interiors are distinctively detailed. The entrance hall is marble lined, with some areas later replaced in green tiles. Doorways in lift lobbies have robust concrete shouldered frames, and doors to common areas are hardwood with vertical glazed panels and full-height moulded handles. Stairwells within the service tower are generously proportioned and enclosed, lit by ranks of slit windows with steel balustrades allowing views up and down. In the access galleries, the concrete frame and wall panels in different aggregates are exposed. Inner walls are clad in brightly coloured glazed tiles, with different colours distinguishing different levels; floors are quarry tiled. Unrenovated flats retain original flush panel entrance doors and fittings, including interlocking stairs (some with horizontal timber balustrades), original plans, fixtures and fittings. Flush panel doors have slender architraves and some retain Goldfinger's integral light switches. The flats themselves are generously proportioned, light and airy spaces.