The view of Lincoln Court Estate from the adjacent Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve - image by Daniel Clift
Lincoln Court Estate soon after first occupation - image courtesy of Hackney Archive
Lincoln Court Estate in Hackney sites between the Woodberry Down Estate and the suburban streets of Stamford Hill, alongside a reservoir that is now the Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve.
The estate consists of 198 flats in three blocks of sixteen storeys, with play decks and communal gardens between.
Architects for the estate were Howes, Jackman & Partners, with recent AA graduate Trevor Denton given a largely free hand in the design of the towers. Working with structural engineers Alan Marshall & Partners, a solution using hollow-pot slab construction was developed to reduce the floor loads which allowed the cantilvered floors that give the estate its distinct appearance. The building exteriors were originally finished in pale grey porcelain mosaic tiles in reference to Denys Lasdun's work at the Royal College of Physicians, but these have since been overclad in rendered insulation. Following the Grenfell fire this overcladding was replaced by Hackney Council with a non-combustible version.
Residential accommodation in the three blocks is arranged over fourteen floors that cantilever over two storey entrances on fin "piloti" columns. The three play decks have ramped connections through the blocks at first floor effectively creating a continuous "play street" at that level which allowed a child to ride a tricycle from one end of the estate to the other without needing to go out into the street.
Lincoln Court Estate under construction - image courtesy of Hackney Archive
The estate was given planning consent by the LCC on 29th October 1964, and construction works for the three blocks were undertaken in two phases with the structural work carried out by Diespeker, and the fit-out undertaken by the Direct Works Department of the newly created London Borough of Hackney. The first residents started moving into the estate in 1969.