Architect ’emotionally disturbed’ by council’s repair works on block she designed
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
A celebrated architect finds it upsetting to visit a block of flats she designed because a council’s botched work has left the building looking like an “oil refinery”.
Kate Macintosh said incompetent building work commissioned by Lambeth council had done untold damage to Macintosh Court in Streatham, the Grade-II listed building she designed in the late 1960s and is named after her.
The 86-year-old said heating and hot water pipes fitted on the outside of the 44-flat apartment block in breach of the building’s listing resembled Spaghetti Junction – the motorway intersection in Birmingham.
Ms Macintosh added that the bungled modernisation of the apartment block, in Leigham Court Road, had caused the building’s elderly residents six years of hell, with contractors drilling through walls and fitting towel rails upside down.
Ms Macintosh said: “Quite honestly I find it very emotionally disturbing to go there. I can’t help but feel terribly pained for the residents but also for seeing my good work so abused.
“When they came to do works after the listing they ran a further four pipes not only along the same route but rising up at the rear, so you’ve got this complete Spaghetti Junction of pipes careering up this wall like an oil refinery.”
Speaking of the impact of works on residents, she added: “They were drilling holes into people’s kitchens, sometimes without even warning. People are working in their kitchen and they see this damn great drill coming through the wall.
Her remarks come a month after the council approved a £367,000 overspend to roof works on the flats between March 2022 and 2023.
A Lambeth council spokesman said: “The council, and our contractors, have worked hard to fix the problems affecting Macintosh Court, but its design, and the fact that it is a listed building, have made the refurbishment particularly challenging.
“We have apologised to residents because it has taken us longer than we would have liked to make the necessary improvements to their homes.
“Nevertheless, Lambeth has already invested some £2.5million in refurbishing the complex to bring it into line with the Lambeth Housing Standard.”
Pictured top: Kate Macintosh outside Macintosh Court in Streatham (Picture: Simon Kennedy)
