Apartment in Erno Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower, London W10
Always a popular one, this apartment in Erno Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower, London W10 with added brutalism is up for sale.
They don’t come up all that often their days either. I have featured one as an Airbnb but it is a couple of years since I saw one offered for sale. And when they do come along, prices tend to be on the up. Especially with a finish like this one.
As you probably know, you are looking at a brutalist icon dating back to the late 1960s, but completed in the early 1970s. This is also a building with a grade II* listing in recognition of its architectural importance. Essentially this is the ‘poster boy’ (or girl) for brutalism in the UK and as such, is always a popular place to live.
As I said, they are rare to the market, which is perhaps because the majority are still in the hands of council tenants, as the building was (of course) designed for social housing. So only a minority ever hit the open market. This is one such case.
Trellick Tower has 31 floors so you can be really high in the sky depending on the one you go for. If heights aren’t your thing, you’ll be pleased to know that this is a 5th-floor apartment, with access on the 6th level. Ok, not quite on the ground floor, but at the lower end of the scale.
The apartment here is probably one of the best presented I have seen too. In fact, I’ll say it is THE best one I have ever seen inside. Why? Well, it’s all down to the concrete.
As I said at the start, this is brutalism with an added layer of brutalism. This apartment and its large west-facing balcony have been renovated to a very high level, with the current owners ‘sympathetic to the original design’ but updating it to a stylish, contemporary space at the same time.
How? Well, concrete walls have been ‘carefully revealed’, as well as existing steel door-frames and unusual architrave light switches. The owners have gone for a theme of oak, steel and concrete throughout the apartment and the result is rather special. Granted a lot of finishes I have seen in the past have been pretty ordinary. But this one would be hard to match regardless.
Note also that dark oak parquet runs throughout the apartment, which is inspired by Goldfinger’s own house, 2 Willow Road in Hampstead, which is now a National Trust property.
As for the layout, entry to the apartment is on the sixth floor, with original concrete stairs descending down to the fifth floor.
Kitchen units with a single oak-veneer and polished stainless-steel counter-top cover the length of the kitchen, as well as a one-piece oak and steel shelf. All bespoke, the work of Buchholz Berlin.
Beyond the kitchen is a large living room, with a balcony running the full length of the apartment, accessed from the kitchen and the dining room.
There are two bedrooms, both east-facing and both described as ‘generous’. But you’ll probably want to view to make your own mind up. Both of those rooms have custom-built fitted wardrobes as well as large floor to ceiling windows.
A bathroom too of course, with the premium finish continuing, this time with Vola and Thomas Hoof fittings and a geometric tiling design, which is again inspired by Willow Road. Note that the heaters are original and like much of the place, have been stripped back and refurbished. The heating bill is included in the service charge, as it runs off a communal system.
As for the money, £675,000 is the price of this one. But note there is a service charge of around £3,000 annually and you will have to pay £34,000 towards the recent major works undertaken on the building.
Images and details courtesy of The Modern House. For more details and to make an enquiry, please visit the website.
Nicolino on 31 May, 2020 1:34 am
Gotta love the staging work on this one!