Thamesmead, in South East London, SE28. A vast Estate that is fascinating, intimidating & at times horrifying, what a place! Thamesmead Central and South was built from the 1960s onwards. Designed by the GLC Archtects & planning dept. The first family moved in in in 1968. This is a View looking South in the summer heatwave of 2018 across the wonderful Southmere Lake. The four blocks on the south edge are 4 of 21 identical blocks. The rest are further South. The terrace of the Southmere Community Centre is to the left. At the time it was closed for redevelopment. This was also the location of a TV series Misfits which first broadcast in 2009. The lake is teaming with life, fish, birds and swarming with huge dragonflies. The lake is also home to a big flock of Swans. The whole Western side of the estate is undergoing a big regeneration and lots of new blocks are now complete with more on the way. Some of the buildings in the enclosed photos were demolished in 2019-2020. This infamous estate has featured in Stanley Kubricks Clockwork Orange 1971 and used as the set for the entire filming of Beautiful Thing 1996.

My favourite part of the estate are these 12 storey point blocks. There are a whopping 21 of them over the central and south areas. These are in the South, two have been mutilated by renovation at some point but the rest were at the time of these photos are in their original condition, however now the original steel And timber windows have now been replaced. Nice precast concrete panels, like the little strip window cast into the balcony balustrades and the outdoor window on the corner end of each balcony. The corner kitchen windows going up the North and South elevations are also rather nice, giving the kitchen a panoramic view, but also a view straight into your neighbours kitchen, perhaps this was intentional to encourage interaction with your neighbour. Some of these blocks are scheduled for demolition in a later phase of the regeneration however the Iconic lakeside blocks are thankfully to remain.