pp.22-23 Ruth Oldham, Ursula Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower Diary and Notes, C20 Society Autumn 2010
Somewhat in the spirit of the ‘archival excesses’ of Le Corbusier, Ernö Goldfinger kept an exceptionally thorough archive, which he bequeathed to the RIBA upon his death. For the Brownfield Estate (Balfron Tower, Carradale House, Glenkerry House and neighbouring buildings and landscape) there are 64 folder of drawings, from sketches on scraps to intricate axonometrics, plus several boxes of admin, notes and press cuttings. The buildings exist in cast concrete in Poplar, bearing the traces of 40 years of hard use and exposure to the elements. They also exist in pencil, ink and paper, stored in folders and boxes that can be accessed if you have clean hands and no belongings apart from a pencil to make notes which, in a quiet, grand room in the V&A library, home to the RIBA Drawings Archive.

As part of my MA research I spent several hours trawling through these documents, getting lost in duped flat layouts, corridors, concrete details and different garden layouts. I was particularly interested in box 170, which contained a folder titled 'Publicity'.

In this is a copy of the journal East London Papers (summer 1969) in which Goldfinger wrote an article about Balfron Tower, summing up his observations from the well publicised two months he and his wife Ursula spent living in a top floor flat in the spring of 1968 (immediately after the building opened). There is also a red Silvine exercise book, containing scrawled notes in black and red biro. The handwriting veers wildly off the lines, much is illegible and there are many crossings out. It is Ursula’s diary of their stay.

Tuesday
to fetch, Hampstead: ironing board, corkscrew, blankets single bed, buy flowers

Saturday
Butcher Wicks on Poplar High St.
Baker Cowells St Leonards Rd
Fishmonger Chrisp St Market
Delicatessen
Fruit far end of Chrisp St Market

Wednesday
4.45 hairdresser
TV delivered
Shirley’s party

Thursday
Opening ceremony, cleaning, washing etc
Woman in lift said difficulty in cleaning windows, had to take down curtains… owing to glass being too near window frame

Friday
East wind blows through balcony and front door, makes laundry and stairs very cold

At the back there is a series of notes written towards the end of their stay. Based on her experience, observations and conversations with other residents, Ursula considers the day to day use of the building - how does one open the doors if carrying parcels or pushing a pram, how easy is it to use the lifts, which spaces are draughty, how easy is it to keep the balcony clean.

Entrance
The walk from the road to the entrance is pleasant and easy with prams etc. I have never heard a comment on it. Personally I like it, I find it a definite advantage to be able to walk to the launderette in Commercial Road and to the market on pedestrian ways. With a pram or children I would have considered this an even greater advantage.

Entrance Doors
Heavy and difficult to manage with prams and children especially in SW gale, doorhandles dismounted by hooligans on one occasion. Entrance hall adequate in size and agreeable.

Lifts
Very good when both are running and very bad if one out of action (quite frequent). Especially if people were moving in at the same time. Sufficiently large even with very large pram but if there was a large pram at the back by the time the mother had manoeuvred out, other people having to leave the lift for her to do so, the lift was liable to disappear before one could get in again. Definitely a larger lift where someone could hold the stop button while it was loading would be better.

The bridges
The swinging doors are extremely difficult to manage with parcels, more so with a pram. A single door that swings in both directions would be easier. I have noticed without exaggeration that everyone was helpful with the doors, not just to me but with each other or a child, or anyone at all. This applies to all age groups including teenagers. There is a very high spirit of courtesy.

Outside corridor
This is appallingly cold in an East wind. It is well kept, I have never seen rubbish in it at any time of day.Milk bottles are left outside doors all day as people are at work, never turned over or broken. some people have door mats outside. I have not yet heard that one has been stolen. This happened to me and friends of mine in Hampstead.

Flat entrance doors
The grilles above the doors let in a terrible amount of cold in an East wind, also under the doors. I believe most tenants have blocked the grilles up, I certainly would if I lived here permanently. In our flat the cold air did not rise to the first floor, but I think that particularly in the small flats it is very bad.

Flat entrance
Very good for size, possible to stand a small pram near the coats, coat hooks very useful. (Some difficulty in flats with stairs going down to flats.)

Staircase
Easy to go up or down. I hate the cement risers which are not possible to clean and look shoddy and tenement like. I should paint them a dark colour if I lived here, but I think they gave quite disappointing effect to the tenants as they moved in, quite out of character with the rest of the flat. The white rubber noses I found a nuisance to keep clean.

Living Room
Very good. I found it easy to feed six one end and seat six in easy chairs the other end very comfortably, the room kept warm easily I never heard a criticism of them. Everybody liked the balconies. The view when sitting in ours was obstructed by the window boxes, this did not worry me personally. I should like tiles on the balconies as it would be easier to keep clean, now it does not matter so much, in the summer one would bring a lot of dust into the sitting room from it. I saw one flat had lain linoleum on the balcony (flowered), everyone seems to be looking forward to planting their window boxes and these would look extremely attractive. The soil in the window boxes and these would look extremely attractive. The soil in the window boxes looks bad to me. I think the GLC might get out a leaflet on window box cultivation as most people have never planted anything in their lives and they might get discouraged. It might be an idea to have a window box competition or an attractive balcony competition. The only two criticism I have heard of the balconies was: a) rather small as it would only take 6 chairs! b) it should be netted in completely for children (I have heard that small children love playing on the balconies and don’t want to go out!)

Complaints from tenants
I have heard many people who live low down say they would like a flat higher up. I have heard no tenant who lives high up say they would like a flat lower down.

I have talked to a number of tenants mainly in the lift or walking to the shop. Bar the complaints of draughts from some windows, heating that didn’t work, they all said the flats were lovely. Those I have been into are beautifully kept, people are going to a lot of trouble to install them mostly with outrageously terrible furniture, carpets, curtains and ornaments, though I don’t think the designs of fabrics are much worse than those I see at the Design Centre. I have never heard anybody express regret for the terrace houses they have mostly come from.

Teenagers
Personally I think there is surprisingly little hooliganism considered the building is open to all corners. Maybe it is worse in the school holidays. The small children enjoy the bear pit, all ages get pleasure from rolling down the grass slopes. All ages like climbing up anything climbable. I think there is a case for a Junior Tenants Association who with some encouragement could organise the club rooms in the lift tower. I think the teenagers should install these rooms as much as possible, with freedom to decorate the walls. Friends who don’t live on the estate should be allowed in if invited. The use of the tower rooms should be based on ages - maybe one room for 12 to 14 year olds, one room for 14 plus, I don’t know.

Outside there should be a big boys and girls climbing or gymnastic area. Very solid. Plus a football area. We had three 14 year olds in one evening, they suggested a snooker table.

Any trees planted on the estate should be planted and cared for by the children, maybe one group of trees for each landing, the holes for the trees should be dug by the children - some may still be broken down by outsiders but you would probably have 100 extra guardians for the trees if this were done. I would suggest each group cared for at least one chestnut tree.

East India Dock is unused. I suggest a swimming pool one end with facilities for small children and parents. At the far end a teenagers boating club, with a club house incorporated and soft drinks bar.

Ursula writes succinctly and pragmatically. She criticises and praises family, paying particular attention to the east of movement through the building. The overall feeling one gets is of great support for this huge experimental building that her husband has built, and of absolute conviction that they should learn as much as they can from it. Their stay in the tower was often criticised, dismissed as a cheap publicity stunt. Goldfinger certainly was a larger than life character, and not averse to a bit of publicity, but these notes indicate that there was more to their stay than the critics wanted to believe.