Cranbrook Estate was designed and built in 1963, and in the intervening years between its completion and today, the way we live has changed dramatically. During the estate’s conception, living arrangements were more rigidly defined and the majority of homes were designed to cater for the nuclear family. This model is no longer applicable to every resident today and the ways in which we live are more diverse than ever.
Combined with the increasingly pressing issues our society is facing such as climate change, economic difficulties in the form of rising living costs, and larger societal shifts such as an ageing population, a retrofit of the estate needed to address these changes in order to cater for residents’ present and future needs.
The project’s ultimate goal is to ensure longevity: not only of the estate itself but also by prioritising residents’ health and welfare enabling them to live longer and healthier lives. As one third of Tower Hamlets Homes tenants and leaseholders are over 60, redesigning one tower block in the estate with a dedicated focus on this particular age group will improve not only their quality of life, but also have a wider societal benefits.
Through a design that can delay or prevent deterioration in residents’ physical and mental health, costs are alleviated for the care and health sectors benefitting the entire community.
