Balfron Tower
modern movement conservation
St Leonard’s Road, Bow, London E14
This 27-storey residential slab block was designed by Ernö Goldfinger in 1964, and was listed at Grade 2 in 1996. In 1999 James Dunnett was asked by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to design a new concierge building to stand in front of the block, as part of a Townscape Heritage Initiative Lottery funding bid to renovate and improve security on the estate. Complete construction drawings and documents were prepared and all consents obtained for the Concierge building before the Council decided to transfer the estate to other owners and cancelled the project. Architecturally the objective was to compliment the sculptural treatment of the ground surface and the dynamic composition of blocks. The tower is now Grade 2* listed.