LEVELLING THE HIGH-RISE

The topic of this investigation focuses on the inequalities of social housing and in particular the architectural designs of high-rise builds in inner cities and how this has the potential for contributing to violence and social discord. I will examine what architecture says about social structure, class and wealth inequality in inner city housing and how can this be readdressed to reduce social segregation and isolation. “A new architecture can transform the moral and sentimental lives of human beings”. I will explore this premise further with how architecture has the power to change people’s life’s both for the better and for worse.  

The main area of interest is how urban planners striving for a vision of utopia have inadvertently created a dystopia for residents by disregarding the inhabitant’s health, wellbeing and living requirements resulting in anti-social behaviour.

My research and studio practice relate to theoretical studies on the inequalities of social housing. In particular, Jane Jacobs book ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ which examines the flaws in urban renewal and the deconstruction of potentially healthy cities through urban planning. I also studied the novel ‘High Rise’ by JG Ballard which depicts the moral decent of residents living in a fictional forty storey tower block.

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The relation of my project to this research is the consideration of emotional reactions of urban dwellers when designing inner-city housing. My research hypothesises that architecture impacts on social structure, class and wealth inequality in inner cities. 

The objective was to identify what creates social and economic division in inner city housing and if town planners and architects contribute to this inequality. Examining high rise living, my research explores the architectural intentions and the reality for residents. My proposal to level the high-rise is to redesign JG Ballard’s fictional forty-storey ‘High Rise’ to negate the oppression for the people inside and create a new way of living that connects not only the physical floor levels but also the human diversity of our society. 

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PLANS AND SECTIONS

Final Design

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC

PUBLIC SPACE

Restaurant

The significance of this research was to establish the elements of architectural and interior design in high rise buildings that contribute to and cause social division and crime.  This enabled me to level the high-rise and redesign this fictional building to negate the oppression for the people inside and create a new way of living that connects not only the physical floor levels but also the human diversity of our society.  My research contributes to the field by mapping the physical structures and layout of an example of post war Brutalist architecture and identify specific areas that contributed to the failure of the design and present how this can be improved and redesigned  to ensure that inner city living is inclusively designed to consider the needs of all demographics within communities.

It would be arrogant to assume that architecture alone can solve the inequalities of inner-city housing as other socioeconomic aspects must be taken into consideration. However, we must acknowledge that architecture can contribute to inequality and given that association we can hypothesise it can play its part in reversing the disparities. The privatisation of London’s council towers and the decantation of the original tenants to make way for people who can afford the inflated price is discriminatory and unfair gentrification. Modified buildings are not the answer to inequality without a national housing strategy that encourages the inclusion of affordable rental accommodation within any development. 

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​Unless considerations for the whole community are put before the property portfolios of a few our cities will stagnate under the self-interest of capital investment and profit. Architects and Designers have the tools to develop opportunities for communities to live together.  It is policy makers and politicians that need to start reading the research and be presented with new concepts to enable them to vision a better way. 

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