The Golden Lane Estate stands on a site that was heavily bombed in the Second World War, and was acquired by the Corporation of London. New housing was required for those who had lost their homes, and in 1951 an open competition was announced. Among the 178 entries were three separate schemes by a trio of lecturers at Kingston Polytechnic, Geoffry Powell, Peter Chamberlin and Christof Bon, who had agreed to from a partnership should any of them win the competition. Powell emerged victorious, and thus the famous Chamberlin, Powell & Bon practice was formed.

The brief was to build 940 flats at the maximum density of 200 people per acre (only 557 flats were eventually created). Powell managed to avoid making the site feel congested by replacing the existing road pattern with pedestrian courtyards. The 16-storey Great Arthur House was the tallest block in London when it was built.

One of the hallmarks of the Golden Lane Estate is its bold use of colour, which, along with the geometric forms of the buildings, contributes to an atmosphere of architectural vibrancy. According to an article in Architectural Design in 1953, "Special attention is paid to the floor treatment with varying textures, colours and patterns and with the floor pattern of the piazza being designed as a picture on the ground." The entire estate took nine years to construct.

Chamberlin, Powell & Bon outlined their architectural manifesto in the Architects' Journal in January 1953: "We attempted to make Golden Lane truly urban as, for instance, Florence or Oxford City are truly urban. Wheeled traffic was kept outside as far as possible. The greater part of the site was reserved for pedestrians only; an attempt was made to bring life to the pedestrian area… We strongly dislike the Garden City tradition with its low density, monotony and waste of good country, road, curbs, borders, paths in endless strips everywhere. We like strong contrast between true town and true country. Most towns are a terrible disappointment; we suggest 200 to the acre is a reasonable density… There are possibilities of enlivening existing towns. The best views of towns are from high up. Restaurants, pubs etc., should be on top of buildings; every tower and spire should be used thus, like a lot of stork nests. Rooms with views – of the Thames, or railway termini."

The architects' ideas found further expression in the Barbican Estate, built in the 1960s, which is their most famous achievement.