I visited Lillington Gardens, the Grade II listed modernist estate in Pimlico, for the first time as a part of Open House London in September 2024.

The estate was constructed in three phases between 1961 and 1971 and was designed by Darbourne (aged only 21 at the time) and Darke.

The design was inspired by the Victorian red brick of the arts and crafts-style Grade I-listed Church of St James the Less, which is situated on the site. This was an unusual design choice in the 1960s – I don’t think I’ve ever seen another completely red brick modernist estate before.

Consisting of 1,000 homes, the intention behind the design of the estate was to provide high density housing without any high rise blocks. The plan of the estate consisted of clusters of blocks no taller than 8 storeys connected by internal courtyards and cross-wings threaded through with paths and ramps with the higher levels accessible by brick-paved internal streets.

We were led around the estate as part of the Open House tour, starting from the community centre in the middle of the estate and around the extensive communal grounds, which included a basketball court, on multiple levels.

We were not shown inside any of the apartments but were told that they ranged from studios to much larger four bedroom homes clustered in groups of three with interlocking “scissor” floor plans. I found some interior shots via old estate agent listings for a studio and a three-bedroom split level apartment, which give an idea of the size and shape of the homes.

The apartments were designed to have aesthetically pleasing views – Darbourne and Darke wanted residents to have views over the communal gardens wherever they were in the estate and installed large plate glass windows in the apartments to give them panoramic views.

Unfortunately, the apartments built in the third phase later on in the project (grey slate cladding) had much smaller windows, potentially a cost saving measure.

Residents reported that the estate was a well designed, pleasant, quiet place to live in a fantastic location. However, residents also mentioned the various issues that have plagued the estate (and have been reported on extensively) in recent times.