53. Dawson Heights

We were privileged to meet the female architect Kate MacIntosh who designed the social housing scheme Dawson’s Heights in the late 60s when she worked at Southwark Council. At a young age of 26, Kate spoke about the challenges of designing for the hilltop site, creating a sense of community for the residents and her passion for creating good design for social housing.

The facade was broken down into double and single bays to be relatable to human scale, unlike the familiar but oppressive tower blocks. The buildings were designed as two interlocking ziggurats that are staggered to minimise blocking of sunlight and views varying in height from 3 to 12 storeys. Kate strived to prevent the balconies being omitted from the design and incorporated them into the fire escape strategy. Residents are lucky enough to have impressive views all across London.