Keeling House and English Housing Modernism

The drawing of the Keeling House in London.

At the beginning of the semester, we visited the Keeling House as one of the housing research precedent cases. The 15-story, high-density residential tower is located in Bethnal Green, in east London. The building consists of 4 independent towers joined by the circulation core in the middle. In each tower, we can find not only one-floor flat units for a family of 2, but also two-story maisonette units which can provide enough living space for a family of 4 to 5 people. Built in 1957, this project has undergone two major design conversions to its exterior. In year 2001, a steel-framed front foyer was added to the entrance of the building. Following that in 2014, the concrete water tank on the top of the building was planned to converted into a penthouse with the approval of the landlord.

The new front foyer added in 2001.

The National Theatre by Denys Lasdun.

The residential tower is originally designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, the architect who also designed iconic public landmarks on South Bank like the National Theatre and the IBM headquarters. The use of cast concrete is one of the most significant characteristics of his architectural style. The Keeling House is also an example of Brutalist architecture in London.

The Keeling House, looking from the streets of Bethnal Green

On one hand, the nature of the material is able to provide a clear and artificial environment to the inhabitants secluded from the natural elements. The exposed entrance of the original design somehow creates a more clear boundary between the inside and outside world of the Keeling House. The precast concrete with minimalist decorations separates the outdoor weather with the interior, creating a sense of protection just like Denys Lasdun did with the National Theatre. On the other hand, this project is definitely, not a mere replica of the military bunker architecture during the World War II on French coast. Through specific architectural details, we can tell the intention to create social mixes within the elevated neighborhood: To begin with, the large windows installed both at the front and back of each flat increase engagements between life in the tower and the city landscape. The corridors on the same floor are positioned in an obtuse angle instead of the conventional parallel layout, to encourage communications and meetings between two towers.

Additionally, a shared plaza which can only be accessed by the residents of the Keeling House is distributed on every two stories, right at the center of the building along with the elevator core. However, these public space can not be accessed through the elevators: they are only connected to the stairs and doorways which can only be opened by the owners of the flats. On the "public" plazas, people can get a clear view of the city while meeting the rest of the members of the small neighborhood. It is the private "gardens" and adjacent corridor layout in the air that separates the Keeling House from the other conventional Modern collective housing projects in London.

The plaza shared by the residents in the air.

One interesting phenomenon I find about English Modern housing projects is that most of them are located in the eastern part of the city. Modern architecture and the collective-ness of urban life it represents were much favored by the government in the mid 20th century. Projects like the Keeling House and Robinhood Garden near Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs were designed to be used as social housing for citizens with low and intermediate level of social incomes. The modularized compact units are, sure enough, relatively affordable to the London residents, considering the high land prices in London (especially within Zone 1 and 2). However, one of the social goals of Modern architecture is to promote "social mixes" between different social classes in the city. The problem of the Keeling House is that when it was constructed, it failed to attract the attention of the wealthy class which were living in the suburbs and the west side of London. Therefore it may successfully create opportunities of socializing to the residents within the building, it failed to gain a variety of the social backgrounds of the residents in the first place. On the other end of the scale is the Barbican Center, which has been gentrified over the years and turned into a concrete "fortress" for the wealthy Londoners (apart from the public programs such as the theatre and cinemas). In general, most of the English modern housing projects are ideal but unrealistic design proposals by architects who wanted to redesign people's urban life in a metropolis.

Perspective drawing created by Alison + Peter Smithson for the Robin Hood Gardens.

Fortunately the situations has been changed in recent years. The Keeling House is once more cherished by people of various social backgrounds and now it is the home to many architects and designers in London.