Keeling House Bethnal Green

Keeling House is a residential 'cluster' block built between 1957 and 1959, designed in 1955 by Sir Denys Lasdun. This significant example of post-war housing embodies Lasdun’s ideas on urban renewal. The building is sixteen storeys high and comprises 56 two-storey maisonettes and 8 single-storey studio flats arranged around a core containing stairs, lifts and activity areas. It consists of four subsidiary towers linked by this central core. The structure is reinforced concrete, initially faced with Portland stone aggregate pre-cast panels, though the surface is now painted. The elevations express the pattern of semi-detached maisonettes with a regular rhythm of solid balconies alternating with the narrower horizontal elements of the bedroom floors. The fifth residential floor is occupied by flats, which is also apparent in the elevation’s rhythm.