Point Royal

EASTHAMPSTEAD

SU86NE RECTORY LANE, The Green 674-1/9/304 Nos.1-102 (Consecutive) Point Royal

II

18 storey point block with circular partly underground parking garage. 1961-64. Designed by Philip Dowson and Derek Sugden of Arup Associates. Reinforced concrete, partly precast and partly in situ. 102 flats above ground floor entrance podium. Irregular split hexagon plan, with 6 flats on each floor, central lift lobby, and ground floor entrance, now altered, recessed beneath block above. Circular ground floor terrace above ha-ha, beneath which is the basement garage, open at the sides. The car park and ground floor are constructed in board-marked shuttered reinforced in situ poured concrete with sloping brick outer sides to the ha-ha. The detailing emphasises the modelling potential of the material, with features such as rainwater gargoyles, circular columns, slab support walls, and splayed soffits treated with visual consistency. Above the ground floor, the block rises above a cantilevered reinforced concrete slab, with reinforced concrete supporting walls, reinforced concrete floors and roof, and an outer exposed precast reinforced concrete frame, behind which are set back the outer walls of the flats. Between the outer wall and the frame there is a narrow escape gallery, giving perimeter access to the single staircase in the centre of the north side of the block. Generous glazing to each flat, originally precast mullions with vertically sliding and top hung softwood sashes, now altered.

The block was refurbished a few years ago, with total replacement of the glazing in upvc. The precast handrail units have been replaced by a deeper enclosed dark-green-coated metal and glazed balustrade. On the ground floor the entrance has been brick-clad and enlarged to improve security. The open sides of the parking garage below the ha-ha have been closed with galvanised steel security fencing. The podium now includes a small gezebo to house an escape stair from the garage. While these changes have affected the appearance and character of the building, they are comparatively minor, and have not fundamentally compromised its integrity. The block is notable for its bold sculptural form and integrated design and also for the precise and refined quality of the pre-cast external frame. Point Royal has strong landmark character in Bracknell and the landscaping around it reinforces this. It is one of the most distinctive architectural features in any of the English New Towns. (Architects Journal: 13 May 1964: 1099-1112).