Dunhill Point

Dunhill Point is a block of 41 flats constructed between 1952 and 1955 by the London County Council's Architect's Department Housing Division, with Rosemary Stjernstedt as Architect in Charge and A W Cleeve Barr and Oliver Cox as principal job architects. Ove Arup and Partners provided engineering services. The building's structure is a reinforced concrete frame clad in grey 'clinker block' brickwork, with the concrete floors visually expressed as horizontal bands in the design. A flat roof tops the structure, punctuated by a projecting service tower designed as a rounded sculptural form. The building contains three flats on the ground floor, and four flats on each upper floor, arranged at the corners of a picturesquely asymmetrical plan, with partially projecting balconies also at the corners. A central lift lobby serves the building, containing two lifts serving alternate floors and two escape staircases, originally brightly painted. The ground floor is partially set back and painted, and includes storerooms (initially also a laundry), which retain their original galvanised steel windows. Windows to the flats have been renewed in UPVC-coated aluminium within the original openings and to a similar pattern, although some mullions have been removed. The balconies retain their original panelled fronts. Each block features different patterned tilework at the entrance; Dunhill Point lacks the long flank wall found elsewhere, featuring instead a small band of grey marble tiles. The original building signage was made of tiles.

Dunhill Point was notable for being the first public housing in Britain to feature mechanically ventilated lavatories and bathrooms, as well as central heating. The flat interiors are not considered of special interest, beyond their layout. The design represented a pioneering approach to high-rise housing, building on earlier, more expensive LCC experiments and later, more mechanical variants. The term "point block" was coined by the Alton East team and derives from the Swedish 'punkthus', reflecting an inspirational source alongside English housing tradition, respect for nearby LCC developments, and considerations for prospective tenants. The site is remarkable for its picturesque massing, taking advantage of the sloping ground and retaining and enhancing Victorian planting from previous gardens and villas. The arrangement groups the point blocks at the top of the rise, providing shelter from traffic noise, while contrasting red-brick houses and maisonettes are set around them. The building embodies the humanist tradition in post-war British architecture.