The Boiler Room is located in Trellick Tower, a Grade II* listed building on the Cheltenham Estate in Kensal Green, London, which was designed by Ernő Goldfinger and opened in 1972. Trellick Tower was originally conceived by Erno Goldfinger as an ‘integrated neighbourhood’, providing a range of dwellings, doctor’s surgery, shops, and a children’s nursery. Developed in response to ideas at the forefront of the post-war social housing movement Trellick Tower was listed grade II* in 1998 and is now understood as an iconic piece of Brutalist architecture.

Projecting dramatically from the top of the service tower the boiler room originally housed four large oil fired boilers that heated over 200 flats. Although this oil fired heating system was replaced by an electrical system (following the 1973 oil crisis) the original boilers and equipment remain in the space and have been untouched for over 40 years. A feasibility study for a luxury residential conversion has recently been explored, however, The Boiler Room Project proposes to open up this space for use by residents and the wider community.

The design was developed through a co-design process with the residents of Trellick Tower, who were keen to breathe a new lease of life into the space by turning it into a creative hub that can be used by the wider local community. The hub contains a recording studio, flexible art space, and a safe environment for younger members of the Cheltenham Estate to develop music and arts based skills.

COLLABORATORS Elena Palacios Carral, Gerard McAtamney, Tom Gibson