Little Venice Towers

Little Venice Tower Blocks, London W9
for CityWest Homes

This was a project for CityWest Homes, the company set up by Westminster City Council to manage its housing. It required renovation of a group of six tower blocks of 22 storeys, built in the 1960s and ‘70s.Situated between Westway and the Grand Union Canal, the towers contain some 750 maisonettes and flats. An invited competition had called for ideas to upgrade the blocks to Decent Homes standard, in particular to improve their thermal performance.

The external expressions of the buildings, whose design holds valid, are of a panel form of construction, the balconies and vertical supports expressing the shape of the maisonettes. Our proposals, which came as a ‘kit of parts’, reinforced the interplay between the vertical solid elements and the varied appearance of the two storey dwellings. The main method of enhancement entailed the addition of a substantial thickness of insulation in the form of a new vertical element combined with a rain screen system.

The architect and contractor Wates worked closely with the tenants, who remained in their homes during the programme.