Best Of London, History, Housing, Secret | By: N Quentin Woolf

Londonist Out Loud: A Podcast About London, 26 September 2014

Welcome to the latest episode of Londonist Out Loud, a podcast about London, as recommended by The Telegraph. You can listen in-browser, or subscribe via iTunes or RSS. We’re also available on Stitcher.

Londonist Out Loud is presented and produced by N Quentin Woolf.

This week, N Quentin Woolf visits the brutalist Balfron Tower, designed by Erno Goldfinger in the 1960s. Guests Joe Watson, of The National Trust, and Tilly Hemingway, of Hemingway Design, show him round Flat 130, which has been recreated as a typical flat from when the tower was first built. For many of those who moved into the building from the east end slums, the homes were the first time they had a fitted kitchen, or a bathroom to themselves — it truly was a revolution in social housing.

The National Trust, which already cares for Goldfinger's home in north London, is opening the Balfron Tower flat to the public until 12 October. Tours at £12 per person can be booked here.


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Show notes by James Drury