Chamberlin, Powell and Bon designed the estate, with Ove Arup & Partners as engineers. Their earlier Golden Lane Estate was their first work. The client was the Corporation of London, which built it as commercial-rent housing for professionals rather than social housing. It was built from 1965 to 1976.
The article calls the style Brutalist, with exposed concrete as the main visible material. There are 14 terrace blocks and four towers, Cromwell, Lauderdale, Shakespeare and Blake, three of them 42 stories and 404 feet (123 m) high. A raised podium links the complex, with walkways called highwalks and no vehicular access inside.
There are around 2,000 flats and about 4,000 residents. Most flats are privately owned after Right to Buy. English Heritage listed the complex Grade II in 2001.
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