A blank canvas within one of London’s best brutalist buildings
To understand its history and design is to understand what makes this place so special. Even if you’re unfamiliar with Denys Lasdun by name, you would have seen his work: the architect was the brains behind the concrete spectacles that are the Royal College of Physicians and the remarkable National Theatre (which a certain brutalism-averse monarch once compared to “a nuclear power station”). But prior to all that, a young Denys – having trained at the Architectural Association in London – earned his stripes working under Wells Coates and Berthold Lubetkin before becoming co-founder of a practice with fellow architects Jane Drew, Maxwell Fry and Lindsay Drake in 1950.
It was around the early 1950s that Denys developed his signature style of clustered residential architecture, in which individual blocks of flats connect via a central tower – and the best example of this is Keeling House. The architect had high hopes that this design, which involves a number of communal corridors and pathways, would encourage conversation between those living here. He’d be thrilled, then, to learn that more than 60 years later, a neighbourly spirit remains one of the building’s biggest selling points. “We really feel that there is a strong sense of community here,” says curator and architect Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, who lives in Keeling House with his partner, curator and PhD researcher Mathilde Friis. “We both grew up in flats, but I have never known my neighbours until now,” she adds. (If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our film on the couple’s home here.)
As for this flat itself? Located on the third and fourth floor, it’s beautifully proportioned, with both bedrooms on the second level – one of which would make an equally lovely study. The open-plan kitchen and living space, meanwhile, gets plenty of natural light, thanks to wall-to-wall windows, which provide views of the City, while a glazed door offers access to a private balcony. The flat is in tip-top condition too: the kitchen features polished ceramic tiles and new appliances, for instance, while secondary glazing has been sensitively employed throughout. And while we love interiors that do the talking, there’s something exciting about a proper blank canvas, as is the case here. With its off-white walls and wooden floorboards, this home presents the opportunity for a new owner to reflect their personality in the space. The only question now: is who will it be?
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