According to a report by the think tank, Policy Exchange, high-rise living accommodation should be demolished and replaced with low-rise homes, plus the occasional ‘regular’ block of flats.
Maxwell Hutchinson, however, architect and former president of RIBA, does not think this is the case at all!
Speaking on BBC’s Today programme, the report’s co-author, Alex Morton said: “What we are arguing for is the demolition of multi-storey estates built between 1950 and 1980, replacing them with terraced streets.
“On the social side, towers are claimed to be unpopular and unattractive. Naught percent of people want top live in them and there is a lot of evidence that alienation is higher and a lot of people feel lonelier! Also crime is higher.”
Hutchinson, explained: “There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with tower blocks –they’ve always been demonised. They do universally suffer from poor management and maintenance. 
“Proving they are well-designed, if you improve the management of the towers plus good thermal insulation and security, better décor and keep them well-maintained, people love to live in them.”
There are said to be over 3000 residential tower blocks in the UK. They all have a very significant roll to play in meeting the nation’s housing demand and will provide essential accommodation for many decades in the future.
They can be all brought into line with modern standards and energy efficiency requirements. And this will far more economical than demolition and replacement with low-rise
A couple of months ago the London School for Economics and the insulation manufacturer Rockwool, launched a report – High Rise Hope. This is a ‘path-breaking’ investigation into the social impact of whole-building energy efficiency refurbishments in residential tower blocks.
It was based around important research into the major improvement of the Edward Woods estate in Shepherds Bush, west London, which included substantial interior and exterior and internal insulation, installing solar PV and changing the heating systems.
This project provides a blueprint for large-scale energy efficiency schemes showing how energy saving can help take millions of people out of fuel poverty, if accompanied by education to help households cut energy use.
More information: www.lse.ac.uk/