(RE) TRELLICK

Goldfinger Housing Kit

The project is a proposal for a self-build tower, entirely made of timber modular components. These are small interlocking “boxes” which can be easily carried by people due to their portable size. The evolution of the components follows the narrative around the activity of the self-builders, residents of the existing Trellick Tower, project’s site. The builders are able to fabricate this kit of parts in the workshop of the Goldfinger Factory, which is placed at ground level of Trellick Tower. This is one of the biggest social housing schemes in London and it is currently home for a variety of cultures, who are part of the Trellick Tower Residents Association.  In tis contest, the group of self-builders engage with the making and the management of this pioneer self-build scheme.

This tower grows over time as the self-builders carry on the construction phase. This proposal involves the local borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the ward of Golborne.

The components are inspired by the analysis of Balfron Tower, another residential tower designed by Ernő Goldfinger, providing key elements for the comparison and improvement of the same elements, which were missing in the design of Trellick Tower. The whole design of the components and the kit of parts is a re-elaboration of this iconic details, which have been reinterpreted and re-designed with a new assembly concept.

The project followed four phases, from an initial addition of components to the existing Trellick Tower to the development of a kit of parts. This has transformed the components from phase1 into a manual of construction for the realization of a new building: Trellick 2.0.

This self-build design approach enables the residents to actively take part in the process of creating new flats typologies, through Utopian lenses. Extended communal gardens, shared kitchens or laundrette spaces shared by multiple levels cut through the building, connecting different flats across different floors. Externally the building would imitate Trellick Tower facade, hiding this intricate space.

The project aims to strengthen the community not only of Trellick, but of the entire surroundings of Golborne. The residents are able to build up skills and become professional manufacturers, therefore they also become pioneers of a new self-build system, replicable anywhere else. The tower will be adapted and changed over time by the residents and will be self-funded by the circular economy structured around the proposed Trellick Tower Residents Housing Association, adding social values to the project.