Weston Rise Estate-Islington

Architects: Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis
Date Completed: 1969
Client: Greater London Council (for Borough of Finsbury now part of Islington)
Listed status: Not listed

This high-density housing scheme for the Greater London Council was built on behalf of Finsbury (now Islington), It is on a triangular island site, effectively a giant roundabout and has 147 dwellings, including flats and maisonettes. It comprises 5 blocks, linked together by towers which, in what is a tradition of brutalist residential architecture, contain lifts, staircases, laundry rooms, drying rooms and refuse chutes.

The lower (6/7 stories) blocks were created for use by older people. However the towers were more for younger families and included small central green spaces for recreation. In the 1960’s detractors thought it was: ‘pre-cast concrete panels, bolted together to create prefabricated cities in the sky'. It has its own Community Hall and kids play areas. The architects used what was their architectural trademark of the time—storey-height panels of prefabricated concrete. The panels were designed so that water would not run down them, leaving unsightly stains. Living rooms and bedrooms were mostly turned away from the noisy Pentonville Road which was expected to become a noisy dual carriageway.

The estate has had various refurbishments over the years. In the mid 1980’s The GLC transferred it to Islington Council and cosmetic refurbishments were carried out in 1986 and 1990. Despite this it had a reputation as a ‘safe space’ for drug users and prostitutes and the final refurbishment tried to address this. In 1994/5 they reduced the access points from five to two, with the main entrance being on Pentonville Road. A small entrance block and a community hall were attached at this time. This was also when the blue fence, surrounding the whole estate, was added. While massively helping the situation some of the work was not popular with fans of brutalism. These included the replacement of timber windows with plastic, the enclosing of outside stairs and the painting of the exposed concrete.