North Crescent

Even expensive architects can get it wrong. This building was assembled from a flat-pack style kit, with the sections meant to support the upper floors put at the top and the lighter pieces used as the foundation. The middle section was fine. People had been living there for about a year before someone spotted the mistake, and everyone had to be evacuated while changes were made to make it safe. The parts were meant to be fixed together in the right order, so it seems like it should have been easy to build. If you've ever messed up putting a wardrobe or kitchen units together, take heart, even high-priced architects fluff up. 😱😅

The building is still quite impressive, though I do wonder how the flats' interiors have held up over the years. That cladding wouldn't meet today's standards after Grenfell. As an architectural draughtsman in Leeds during the 70s, I often went on site and found that the site agent had decided the drawings were wrong or unclear, then ignored them without telling us. So it's not fair to blame the architect too quickly.

The apartments themselves are fine, but the building as a whole has so many problems. There are rats, an unclean bin room and meter room, subsidence, regular issues with homeless people and parcel thieves, and security doors are often left open or broken. The lifts have been out of service for years with no repair in sight. The management company says unpaid landlord fees are why they don't fix things. Fire alarms have also gone off for no reason, sometimes several times a month and occasionally at 1 or 2am. The car park was closed for weeks with little notice due to potential fire risks, and there's still no resolution. Cladding work is also pending.

Nice place, and the service was good.