High Societies
For many people in the UK, the vision of the high-rise tower block is forever blighted by the disastrous Ronan Point in Newham, east London. Four people died in that 200-feet high, 110-flat building in 1968 when an explosion in one flat blew out the precast concrete panels which formed the side of the building. One end of the building collapsed. This one incident more than any other spelled the end of high-rise building in the UK.
Ronan Point was what is known as a system built block. It was put together from pre-fabricated concrete panels hoisted into position by crane and then bolted together. Together with many other buildings constructed in the middle of the 20th century it was a result of the government's desire to build more homes quickly and cheaply. In addition, there were financial incentives to build tall. The 1956 Housing Act gave subsidies to local councils for each floor above five storeys. Literally hundreds of thousands of homes were built throughout the country within a matter of one year or so.
The scandal that followed Ronan Point, combined with the running down of many public tower blocks due to under investment and the poverty of many of the inhabitants, served to undermine all Modernist building and high-rise construction. Yet, tower blocks could solve some of the biggest problems with today's towns and cities: transport and the lack of affordable housing. People would not need to commute so far to work and the urban sprawl could be halted, preserving valuable green space. And living in a tower block would almost guarantee the wonderful views that most people seek when looking for a home.
Many people argue that the problem is not inherent in the designs, but because they are badly managed. Lack of maintenance and a policy by owners, usually councils, to house large numbers of families and the elderly in them led to disaffection, because of security, the lack of easily accessible outside space and frequent breakdown of lifts.
But while high-rise living may not be appropriate for those social groups, there is an increasing feeling that the high life, managed and maintained properly, could be suitable for the other people who are becoming increasingly essential for fast moving cities: young, childless people eager to be near their places of work.
With radically improved building techniques and a new generation of signature architects such as Denys Lasdun, Berthold Lubetkin or Erno Goldfinger, the high-rise now commands a premium position in the property market.
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