It is now 12 months into the fifteen-year project aiming to transform five tower blocks on the Chalcots estate, in Camden, London with the help of an injection of £65 million from central Government.

The renovation scheme was announced in November 2005 after the council secured the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) backing.

The scheme aims to see the renovation of all the blocks on the estate.

This will include:

• new bathrooms and kitchens for all tenants
• works to the roofs
• new cladding to the blocks to protect it from the elements and improve the look of the estate
• new double glazed windows
• new lifts (although these will now be funded directly by the council)
• a 15-year maintenance contract for repairs excluding water and gas supplies with the private contractor.

The recladding is well underway as the image above and the 360×180 spherical panorama on the right illustrate.

Click the top image to get a larger view – notice the new cladding runs from the top with the original building visable from half way down. The panorama was captured in the middle of a red tarmac recreational area, creating a unique view of the architecture.

To be honest at the moment the rendering is mainly hiding the run down nature of the estates and will have more effect on the flat prices for the private landlords than any benefit for the residents.

You can view the a high resolution version of the image on our digital urban flickr group..

A QTVR version of the panorama will be available Monday when we can get access to our server.

It is now 12 months into the fifteen-year project aiming to transform five tower blocks on the Chalcots estate, in Camden, London with the help of an injection of £65 million from central Government.

The renovation scheme was announced in November 2005 after the council secured the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) backing.

The scheme aims to see the renovation of all the blocks on the estate.

This will include:

• new bathrooms and kitchens for all tenants
• works to the roofs
• new cladding to the blocks to protect it from the elements and improve the look of the estate
• new double glazed windows
• new lifts (although these will now be funded directly by the council)
• a 15-year maintenance contract for repairs excluding water and gas supplies with the private contractor.

The recladding is well underway as the image above and the 360×180 spherical panorama on the right illustrate.

Click the top image to get a larger view – notice the new cladding runs from the top with the original building visable from half way down. The panorama was captured in the middle of a red tarmac recreational area, creating a unique view of the architecture.

To be honest at the moment the rendering is mainly hiding the run down nature of the estates and will have more effect on the flat prices for the private landlords than any benefit for the residents.

You can view the a high resolution version of the image on our digital urban flickr group..

A QTVR version of the panorama will be available Monday when we can get access to our server.