Blackwall Tunnel Ventilation Shaft

These particular ventilation towers (there are others for the Blackwall Tunnel) were designed by Terry Farrell between 1961 and 1962 in his brief stint at the LCC Architect's Department. They were apparently inspired by the curved forms of Oscar Niemeyer's work which was beginning to feature in the architectural press of the period. According to the listing entry, Farrell compared the curved forms of these industrial undertakings with the hard orthogonal nature of nearby social housing like Balfron Tower and Robin Hood Gardens. The towers were built between 1964 and 1967using sprayed concrete (gunite) onto prestressed cabling. 'The shells, coated with bitumen and cement paint to prevent corrosion, were an early use of gunite as a building material, rather than a repair material, chosen because it reduced the need for expensive shuttering.' [1] Inside are instruments to measure the air pollution via the extract and an airlocked access passage to the main tunnel.

[1] Official List Entry – 1246738