From Brutalist to Georgian: 10 architecturally iconic projects

We have partnered with some great clients and organisations over the past 10 years; they are at the heart of what we do. But so, too, are the incredible buildings and projects we have worked on and housed guardians in. From Brutalist towers to Georgian townhouses, we take a look at some of our favourite architecturally iconic projects from the last 10 years.

1. Balfron Tower

Designed by architect Ernö Goldfinger in the 1960s, Balfron Tower, situated in the Brownfield Estate in east London, is characterised by its brutalist design and has been the backdrop of several music videos, including This is Music by the Verve and Morning Glory by Oasis. It also featured on BBC programme The Hustle, the 1988 film For Queen and Country and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. Goldfinger was so taken by his own design that he moved into flat 130 with his wife for two months in 1968. In 2014, the National Trust refurbished the flat to resemble its 1960s heyday. 

In November 2014, Dot Dot Dot secured the 26-storey building with guardians, housing 30 guardians in 20 flats which would otherwise be empty. 

2. Robin Hood Gardens

Robin Hood Gardens was the late-1960s brainchild of architects Alison and Peter Smithson. The Poplar estate was finished in 1972, and encapsulates the architects’ concept of ‘streets in the sky’, characterised by large concrete blocks connected by walkways. In 2012, we housed guardians alongside existing tenants in the emptying estate to support its complex transition.

Despite a high-profile campaign by architects and preservation bodies to save Robin Hood Gardens, it was demolished in 2017. Keen to preserve its history and spark conversations about social housing, the V&A salvaged a part of the facade, which was shown at the Venice Architecture Biennial in 2018.

3. Capella Court

Modernist in design and tear-dropped in shape, the iconic Capella Court is home to almost 70,000sq ft of office space. It was built by British architects Raglan Squire & Partners between 1964 and 1967, firmly placing it in its modernist context. Located on an island on Brighton Road in Purley, Croydon, it features a huge light-filled atrium and 360° views of London and beyond. It is a popular building amongst locals, and its unique shape has given it the nickname of the ‘VW building’. 

In 2020, we partnered with Peer Group plc to provide security for the building, housing guardians on the fifth floor. In June 2021, Maslow Capital pledged £13.7m to Sheen Lane Developments to transform the disused offices into residential apartments.

4. Thamesmead

Built in the 1960s and deemed ‘the town of tomorrow’, Thamesmead’s distinctive brutalist architecture has been the backdrop to several culturally significant works of film and TV throughout the last 60 years, from A Clockwork Orange to Harry Potter. The social housing estate was designed by the Greater London Council (GLC) division architect Robert Rigg, who took inspiration from housing estates in Sweden where a reduced crime rate was attributed to the inclusion of lakes and canals. 

Dot Dot Dot has worked with Peabody since 2015 to house over 300 guardians in a variety of spaces whilst the estate’s 30-year regeneration takes place.

5. Palace Court

Palace Court is a row of Georgian townhouses on a quiet, tree-lined street situated next to Kensington Gardens in Notting Hill, London. The buildings date back to the late 19th century, with many featuring Dutch-inspired facades. Famous occupants in the area include Alice Meynell, a poet and essayist.

Dot Dot Dot managed 13 Palace Court on behalf of Viridian (and subsequently Optivo) from May 2017 until April 2019, housing 29 people in 19 spaces in the building that would otherwise have been vulnerable to incidences of antisocial behaviour.

6. South Kilburn

Stephanie O’Callaghan- Dot Dot Dot

Craik Court, Crone Court and Winterleys are three tower-blocks located in the Carlton Vale area of South Kilburn. The first flats were let out in Craik Court and Crone Court in March 1967. There are 227 dwellings across the three blocks, from which you can see sweeping views of north London. South Kilburn has featured all over the big and small screen, including in NW, the film adaptation of Zadie Smith’s novel, the 1987 film Withnail & I and the TV drama Trigger Point.

Brent Council is almost half way through its 15 year regeneration of South Kilburn. Dot Dot Dot continues to work with Brent Council to secure flats across South Kilburn, ensuring that blocks remain occupied, existing residents feel safe, and that the transition goes smoothly. 

7. Grove Park Youth Club

Part of the Chilbrook estate in Grove Park, Lewisham, Grove Park Youth Club was commissioned by the London County Council (LCC) in 1965. Sir Hubert Bennett and Leo Hallissey, architects on the team at LCC who were inspired by the Bauhaus movement, also designed other culturally significant buildings in the 1960s including the Hayward Gallery, Michael Faraday Memorial and Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre. 

Dot Dot Dot moved guardians into the decommissioned youth club in 2017. Working alongside the Grove Park Youth Club Building Preservation Trust, three guardians focused their volunteering efforts to help with restoring the building. After handing the building back to Lewisham Council, the youth club reopened its doors on 26th July 2021.

8. Toynbee Hall

Toynbee Hall was created in 1884 by Samuel and Henrietta Barnett, providing a place for future leaders to live and work alongside those facing poverty in the East End. Their vision was for an interdependent community that addressed the causes and impacts of poverty in the area. Alumni include Clement Atlee and William Beveridge. The building was designed by Elijah Hoole and features a Tudor-Gothic style, and was granted Grade II listed status in 1973. 

The charity still continues its work today, and in 2014 it committed to a regeneration project to develop and refurbish the site. During this period of transition, we housed and managed 65 guardians in 30 different properties, as well as providing estates management service.

9. Wisbech Castle 

Wisbech Castle is a castle located in Cambridgeshire and was built in 1072 on the orders of William I. In late Tudor times, the building was used as a notorious prison, but was redeveloped several more times in the 17th and 18th centuries. The building was given Grade II listed status in 1983.

We partnered with Cambridgeshire County Council in 2017 to secure and care for the 11th century building. Wisbech Town Council negotiated the long-term lease of the building, working with local volunteers to form The Wisbech Castle Project. The project seeks to bring the building back into public use and retain it as a much-loved asset for the people of Wisbech.

10. Kilmore House

Photo credit: Mark Muldoon

Kilmore House is an iconic block of flats in Poplar, east London, made more so by the 2014 addition of an 80 foot mural. The mural was painted by street artists Irony and Bee, and is supposed to symbolise the presence of gentrification in the area. It is thought that the building will appear in the much anticipated fourth season of Top Boy, which is set to air on Netflix this year.

We have secured flats across Poplar since 2011, working closely with Poplar HARCA to look after empty assets and create meaningful social impact in the area. To date, Kilmore House is the only one of our properties to feature an 80 foot chihuahua. 

If you want to find out more about the buildings we manage and whether property guardianship could be right for you, get in touch at partnerships@dotdotdotproperty.com.

Counting the costs of empty properties

Many property owners focus on the lost rental revenue when calculating the cost of an empty building, but, says former Dot Dot Dot chief executive Peter Brown, there are many more savings to be had when using property guardians.

When a mainstream use of a property comes to an end e.g. because an occupier has left, or the building needs to be redeveloped, the focus on the financial loss to the property owner is usually on lost rental revenue. This is understandable, because those figures usually quickly add up, but there are also significant costs involved with managing and stewarding empty buildings which can hit the property owner’s bottom line. 

In my experience, most organisations will underestimate these costs as they aren’t used to holding property empty. And in larger buildings that have had a commercial tenant, the property owner won’t have been responsible for the building’s day to day costs and so may not even have a sense of the running costs of the building, so won’t have been able to make an assessment for how much the building may cost to keep empty. Every month when we run through our budgets, I never cease to be surprised by how quickly the savings of using guardians, rather than leaving buildings empty, can add up. 

For example, we took responsibility for around 165 Council Tax accounts in the last financial year, saving 14 of our clients more than £220k in Council Tax payments alone. Single accounts ranged from individual studio flats up to our largest 90-person property, and, there were plenty – hundreds – more accounts where the guardians paid Council Tax directly, thereby contributing even more savings. We’re also working up the savings on utilities, maintenance and alternative security options for each of our projects, so we can give our clients a more complete understanding of all the money they’re saving by choosing to work with us.

The costs of empty property that we typically see fall into two categories – direct and indirect. 

Direct costs are things that clients would have had to pay for themselves if the building lay empty – for example:

• Council tax: discounts and exemptions for empty property have not been available for a number of years, and in some areas policies to incentivise owners to use property means that Council Tax bills can double for longer-term empty property
• Energy and utilities: even when equipment is switched off, there are often standing charges to pay for
• Hard security products: many of our clients have historically used third party security products such as metal screens to secure their empty properties. These products are either rented or purchased, and so using guardians removes the need to pay for them
• Repairs and maintenance: we will often be able to take on some of the routine repairs and maintenance, depending on the building
• Health and safety, and compliance: even an empty building needs to be managed and kept safe, for visitors and to avoid it becoming a hazard.
• Depreciation: though it’s hard to measure, an empty building will most likely lose value over time as it becomes more dilapidated. There’s a value in a building that is cared-for and looked after.

But there are also other costs – indirect ones – that only become relevant once a property is empty:

• Insurance – many insurers have clauses requiring property to be occupied without long void periods, and some insurers will charge more for empty property given the risks of vandalism or damage going unnoticed and unchecked
• Theft or vandalism – these costs can be high in terms of both the cleanup and securing the building again. Unfortunately, we’ve seen even the smallest property being the target of metal thieves.
• Squatters or unauthorised access – the court and bailiff costs associated with removing squatters can easily run into five figures.

So, when faced with an empty building, my advice would be to consider and make provision for a wider set of these costs and not just rent loss.

If you want to get an idea of how much property guardianship could save you, get in touch with us at partnerships@dotdotdotproperty.com.