The redeveloped tower is a huge improvement. It's still uncharacteristically large for the area, but the reflective glass means that it now blends into the sky and isn't so imposing.
Fair point. The new version is cleverly boring so it's completely harmless to its surroundings. The old version was just depressingly boring which made you want to jump off said building
I lived in Colliers Wood for years and I ended up almost loving the monstrosity. It was so universally hated I think I felt sorry for it. Also it looked a bit like the gates to Mordor, it really was disgusting. However it was memorable, whereas the new effort is just dull and safe which sums up London in the 21st Century really.
Or to me more precise; it hasn't burned down Yet. And as for Grenfell... far more was wrong with that eyesore, than the cladding. A fatal accident of some sort involving the vile '70's spam can was inevitable.
I disagree. The Grenfell's new cladding did exactly what it was supposed to do. “In implicit acknowledgement that property developers are inhuman psychopaths who care only about money” The company owning Grenfell were probably counting on their fire insurance to pay up.
When I was younger, I thought a massive fire had occurred because of how dull and grey/black it looked, especially when it was a cloudy day. It didn't help that it the netting made it look so much worse, but at least now it doesn't look awful to look at.
You know, when I went back to Collier's Wood a year or two ago, I was shocked when I saw the Brown & Root tower! I was shocked because my entire teen life would pass that daily, and that ugly car park. My girlfriend at the time didn't understand why I was shocked. I hadn't known of any developments since the green netting being put up.
I’m a photographer from Mexico. I’ve been in London three times for a grand total of about eight days and every time, I take hundreds of photographs for my work with Getty Images. When I get home, I have to start researching the places of every single photo I took, so I end up using the Wikipedia and Google Maps and literally retrace every single step I took in those trips so I can know the place I photographed, a bit about its history, the street or intersections, general sector of the city, etc. These kinds of videos (and your channel), I find FASCINATING. Every time I’ve gone to the UK, I’ve actually stayed for about three weeks but twice in Oxford and once in Stratford-upon-Avon. The London trips end up being just weekend trips so I’ve never been able to REALLY, REALLY go DEEP into getting to know this city. I’ve been fascinated by England and London since 1990 and call myself lucky that I’ve been able to go three times now. Until next time that I can go, which will probably not be before mid-2022, your wonderful videos give me a great insight into a city which I consider one of the most fascinating places on Earth. Thank you very much!
I noticed that with the glazing, on days when it's largely sunny with a few fluffy clouds, it almost disappears into the background...well, at least from a distance.
@@davidwebb2318 Given that this particular story specifically involves a developer weaseling out of a commitment to... uh... _provide housing,_ your line of defense seems a bit off.
When I was studying at nearby St Georges we called it Collywood. It was the favoured destination of many medical students for a quick curry after work, because one could easily walk there from the hospital! Meanwhile its larger and more distant cousin Morden lost out, because as every good Lord Of The Rings fan knows "one does not simply walk into Morden!" ;-)
If it ever does go up in flames I hope the emergency services don't have to cut through as many subterranean steel doors as International Rescue had to.
@@JagoHazzard @Shaun House. Littlers for Libertys (at Merton Abbey Mills Site), sent their dirty water to Morris (at the Coppermills Site on Merton High Street - now part Savacentre (except its not is now Merton Retail Centre or something like that a Sainsburys and M&S). Not to be confused with the Flour Mills (later Conollys Leather later flats ), nor the Coppermills off North of Plough Lane or the Paper Mills (Bowaters) to the north of that on the Wandle behind what was the dog track, not to be confused with the Coppermills further up (down?) the Wandle near Earlsfield or the Mills to the South of King Georges Park (and the Airfix factory) or the Mill at near where the Wandle Meets the thames. Other water wheel mills may have existed from time to time too. Oh, and Liberty designs, not to confuse with William Morris Designs not to be confused with De Morgan's designs for ceramic tiles for a while at Colliers Wood (his wife did not like the air and they re-located to Chiswick - oddly not too far from where Nelson and The Hamiltons were considering buying there out of town property until they found Merton Place , near , but not in , Colliers Wood.
My Dad was born and raised in Colliers Wood and worked at the Board Mills, now the site of the Savacentre. Colliers Wood was a different place then, it was quite industrial and the Wandle was very polluted. Industry went ,jobs went, the river is now clean.
Granted this is a vast improvement on the horror which blighted the landscape for decades, what concerns me most is the weird Perspex-like shell which suggests the windows can't be opened. How is this building ventilated? Who would want to live or work - in the new "virus reality" - in a building where fresh air has been outlawed and air-conditioning is king? Also, post-Grenfell, what is the status of this covering/cladding? Flammable, inflammable? Flammable...? Inflammable? Better with... or without?
Agreed the ventilation should be in the planning application documents, it appears that air con with UV can mitigate virus spread but would I rely on it ?
I doubt the ventilation system is communal, normally you have a heat recovery ventilator for each apartment with its own direct ductwork to outside, you can see that some of the cladding is louver'd no doubt for these services.
@@edc1569 Also, it is more important that you get fresh air in, it is not as if air is normally recycled. There is a huge difference between an air conditioning unit on the wall cooling the air and a system to heat or cool ventilgation air. Would not be much of ventilation if you got your neighbours used air.
What this thing is now clad in wasn't mentioned though. That; and cladding's main purpose is thermal insulation, which tower blocks need far more of than traditional houses. Moral of the story: Avoid flats built &/or refirbed by councils / housing associations, as the workmanship & materials will always be from the lowest bidder.
The name of this place is the southernmost station to refer to the ancient "Great North Wood" as in Norwood. It dates back to when collier referred to charcoal burning, coal not yet being dug out of the ground but only retrieved from the shore which was known as seacoal. BTW the only alleged remnant of the wood is Sydenham Hill Wood which follows the only surviving part of the former railway to Crystal Palace High Level.
Down here on the Jersey side of the Hudson, there used to be scores of those types of buildings along the affluent corridors built up alongside our two large toll motorways. CEOs and their sort would often zoom in on the directly-connected airport (EWR), while us hirelings stifled our grumbles, and did our best to smile as we worked in those soulless concrete boxes. Ironically, while most people had to take those same motorways to work, the north half of the state is also home to one of the last refuges of regional commuter rail here, and it's quite extensive by US standards. It's shame that it's all so run down now.
I have only been to Colliers Wood once to buy some shoes when I was staying with a friend in Balham and my old shoes fell apart Colliers Wood had two sports shops in a shopping complex. I remember thinking it was a very car-centric retail park. Britannia Tower also seemed very isolated. I am sure that didn't help.
Having spent most of my life living in various places within about a five or six mile radius (at one time I even lived a 15 minute walk away) of the monstrosity that this building used to be, I have to say that the refurbishment is nothing short of miraculous! It was one of those places that you never looked directly at for fear of acknowledging its existence. Then to add insult to injury, in the late 80s they built the hideous Sainsbury's Savacentre almost next door, something that resembled an enormous Samsonite suitcase laying on its side. There was no hope for poor Colliers Wood, which I had always thought of as an area lacking in heart and purpose anyway, seemingly developed to fill an empty void between Tooting, Wimbledon and Mitcham. Although they did give it a tube station, so it had to be good for something. But now it has a nice gleaming skyscraper, so there's hope for poor Colliers Wood yet!
Used to work round there... was strangely fond of the building and for some reason used to enjoy standing at the bottom and staring up at it with the clouds racing past
Is it just my friendship bubble, or is it more the older generations who don't like Brutalist architecture? Personally I think it's far more attractive and interesting than the Glass, White and Faceless theming that a lot of modern buildings lean into and fail hard. Brutalist architecture is honest and upfront. It also feels more personal than the faceless buildings that take their place. It is nice to see it getting recognition and increasing admiration though, in my local big town: Basildon, New developments are actually leaning into emulating or complementing the existing Brutalism.
@Seymour Crack Thanks for your opinion there. Someone clearly doesn't like Le Courbousier. Still think the Barbican and Trellick tower would look absolutely stunning if the concrete was cleaned back to the original finish.
Its not the external appearence as such, it was the orientation to the prevailing winds, and the problem of insulating concreate finishes, I like the Brunswick centre in St Pancras for example. Before the tower and car park were built there was little in the area, the coffin works of a funeral directors primarily, and the farriers and harness makers survived I think until the one way cut through of ?priory way? was built. Lyon Tower was one of the strange bits of the 1960s, a modern looking building in a £sd World. But you also have to recall Merton was still in Surrey when this was started, though with a london postcode even before 1965 I think . With Millers Mead (bow street runners stables opposite and Surrey weatherboarding two storey properties nearby and if an attempt to match the station it failed. Perhaps if it had been over the station and built in collaboration with LTE it might have worked better on that site rather than the site (cheap?) chosen
Totally agree,i got a bit of flack for saying theres no finer estate on the Barbican video comments and telling the rabid dislikers of the Barbican to go back to their cottages,thatched or untatched Give me a top flat on Cromwell tower and the views and keep your rotten Mayfair mansion,i say
Definite improvement. Was an eyesore. Still too big for the area but at least those that couldn’t quite afford Wimbledon but needed an SW19 postcode.. got one 😉
The old photos of the tower made me wonder if the architects wanted to emulate the US Steel building in Pittsburgh, but with masonry and not Core-10 steel, and the refurbished tower made me think of another tall building in Pittsburgh, PPG Place (PPG stands for Pittsburgh Plate Glass)
Yeah I was thinking the same thing about the U.S. Steel building (lived in Pittsburgh for a couple of years). They clearly missed the mark though because I think that the U.S. Steel building is nice looking (besides fitting the history of the city)
It’s Cor-Ten but I’m just picking nits. I worked for USS in the 90’s. There is a 2 story prototype of the USS building in Monroeville PA on the site of the former USS research center. There is your useless trivia for the day.
I've just recently discovered your channel and I love how informative you are yet there's always subtle humour that I love. Being from London there's so many buildings and stations I've passed by and I had no idea of the history behind them. I just walked on by. Certainly won't now
Jago Hazard, you make an accurate assessment of property developers. They make a fortune out of building sometimes dubious quality structures. They argue to the council that they need to make exclusively "high end" accommodation to "rebalance the area socially and economically". (Translation: Social cleansing). Reluctantly, they agree to include a low number of social and affordable (to almost no one) properties. Then, during the building phase, they return to the council saying that they can no longer afford to build any social or affordable places or will have to abandon the development. Pressed for a proper explanation, they argue that they cannot because it is "commercially confidential". The idea of the new residents being all Tory voting suits the Tory councillors who are really happy to give in.
I used to have nightmares about being chased in that building. I've never seen the inside but because of how the outside looked I imagined it being hollow, abandoned and falling apart. I used to get the creeps walking past it as well.
Tolworth Tower is another out of place Icon, albeit a lot more pleasant looking than the Colliers Wood tower used to be. It's undergoing conversion to apartments I believe.......
If I had a penny for every time I passed that tower I would be a rich man. The pub opposite was very good, then redundant and appeared as an S&M club in the bill, which is now an excellent but overpriced middle eastern restaurant. Worst was when I had to wait to change buses there. Oh, those heady days at Tooting.
I worked in the Brown & Root tower late 80's early 90's and really enjoyed that pub over the road - good beer garden! There was a twin tower called Burlington House in Dover, which has now been demolished. Also saw a similar building in Berlin.
I grew up in Mitcham and regularly passed by the Brown & Root tower. I never disliked how it originally looked. For me, it was the essence of brutalist architecture and I loved how distinct and to the point it looked. Personally, I think it looked better before the redevelopment. That being said, maybe it's a nostalgia thing. It was simpler days for me when the tower was in it's original state. I started secondary school around the time they put the netting up and demolished the car park, maybe it's largely childhood memories that make me favour the original look.
Imagine my surprise when the real ale pub (sited next to the Holiday Inn Express and (sort of) opposite this abomination) and named for the Northern Line station architect himself, Charles Holden, wasn't name checked in the video. Admittedly, it may have been closed due to, you know, *reasons*, but it fits in nicely to this story and your other fab Colliers Wood-related vids. That's all I have to say, thanks!
I was rather fond of Brown And Root House. In the '70s it was much darker. I recall it was done up in the '80s and was almost black. My maternal grandfather used to live in Fortescue road, just off Christchurch Road. When very young I went out with Mum and Dad on a Saturday. "We're going to Granddad's," (Great!) "after we've done the shopping." (Oh no!) So for hours and hours and hours we'd traipse around the shops. Get in the car to go to more shops, get back in the car to go back to the shops we'd just left! Then back in the car, by this time young Chris had lost the will to live! When Brown And Root house came into view it meant the shopping was done and we were nearly at Granddad's! I was a little sad they'd clad it...although I must admit that it does look better.
Got friends down fortescue road, clarion housing have just finished building some low rise flats in the former thames water site off the wimbledon and tooting railway line
@@highpath4776 Is the nature reserve still on on the old sewage works off the railway line? Discovering that when out for exercise was one of the things that saved me goung to the "smoke".
I worked on the sewage farm at the end of Bygrove Road, Stevensons board mills and Merton board mills, all in the '60's and both the board mills and Connolly's used the Wandle.
I used to pick up construction equipment from a plant yard near there called Chas Brand & Son. We were constructing the Victoria Line Tube and later I was transporting stuff down to Chepstow in Wales for a tunnel under the rivers Severn and Wye. There was a café there that Henry Cooper went in, great breakfast.
You have made me miss the days where I had something capable of running SC2K (and the SCURK) without either ludicrous speed or emulating the dos version... it really *does* resemble the abandoned sprites!
I used to live in Colliers Wood for a year or so, right next to the station - some time around 2008 or so. I remember the tower being rather menacing. Glad to see they've redeveloped it.
And, of course, for the past year the lower reaches of the Dark Tower (as I still know it) have been enrobed in scaffolding because one of the new windows fell out... The landlord, Asif Aziz, was named in the House last week by our MP. (I'll say no more on that matter.) Lovely to see my neck of the woods get the Hazzard treatment. I didn't spot it first time round...
Not as bad as it used to be..... how are you going to explain that to the next generation. Its still ugly. The community got nothing that was promised and the purpose of the building remains unclear. Good Grief. Thanks again Jago
If you meant the original priory park proposals they were long forgotten by sainsburys. the new glass cladding is Ok and the best of a bad job, as i said the flats can only be rented, they- unless tory govt changes rules, are too small room size to comply with habital room regulations.
I lived in the area in 2008. Back then we called the tower the "Tower of Mordor". It also had a pretty tree next to it that blossomed with plastic "flowers" (a multitude of plastic bags) in the winter. Those "flowers" were obscured by leaves in the summer.
The wide shot of the "new" version is like a scene from exurban Japan. The whole aesthetic of a mostly low-rise residential area with a single moderate skyscraper on a street corner, and a high-tension power pylon lurking in the background, feels like the establishing shot at the beginning of any given episode of a modern Ultraman series, right before a giant monster enters the shot and knocks it down. :)
Can you imagine how in 2050 we will all most likely be looking down on the modern "glass clad monsters" just like we look down on the 60's brutalist monstrosities?
It surprises me now to think that I used to walk (aged about 12-15, in the early 1950s) from South Wimbledon to Clapham Common and halfway down Acre Lane towards Brixton and the one area I can't recall at all, is beyond Merton Bus Garage (past South Wimbledon) to Tooting Broadway, namely Colliers Wood.. The advantage is that the existence of this building would have haunted me to this day, had it been built then!! The Borough of Merton itself, when created, occupied Crown House, Morden, another monstrosity, along with its nearby neighbour, the building astride Morden Tube Station.
Have you ever been to London in the Summer? The average day is sunny, warm to hot and pretty humid. This tower looks like it would fit in an abandoned Soviet city in outer Siberia not London.
Definitely better! Is it being used at present? The company I worked for did rent some space for temporary offices around the turn of the century. I was impressed with the lifts - smooth and fast! Don’t know how reliable they were, only visited occasionally.
Worked in the "black stump" in the 90s. Whenever it was windy, the windows started falling out and it used to create a vortex around the shops built around it . Awful place.
I remember it well, frequently passed it, looked like it was burnt-out. As for buildings looking out of place, how about the monstrous Crown House in Morden, also under Merton council.
Reminds me of our Town Hall here in Aalesund. Concrede block from the 80s with parts falling off. Was also covered in glass in recent years. Was said to be the ugliest building in the city.
I used to do a weekly car trip from Morden to Oval and remember this back in the 60s. Mind you that whole journey was grotty in those days before buildings started to be cleaned of soot. I looked down on the “inner city” coming from the leafy suburbs of Morden. All changed now and you need to be a millionaire to live there.
Jago. Unconnected with this video -fascinated with the information about Leicester monorail! How do you know all this stuff? DOing more research. May even consider doing my own video on the subject
it is not ill-though on your part... same happens in BA my hometown... developers can do what they want and the town hall says well good for you... and for us! council housing construction is shoddy if existent! your wording was accurate indeed (as it usually is :) )
I remember i got a job from that jobclub with Crystal Palace fc, in the bars. that year they sacked stevie kenber and hired Ian dowie then got promoted to the Premiership via the playoffs. fun times. one of the perks was watching premier league football and letting some of my friends in lol
I used to live very close to it. In Mitcham now. Always "The Black Building" when talked about. My Kids used to go to SingleGate school. And the vortex from a not particularly high wind could lift you off your feet when walking by it. Was a favourite of 70's TV shows. The Sweeney etc, if an Office block was needed. But not the Budget for the city. The Cheese Grater when it was being rebuilt. And Now !! back to The Black Building , as it has a special place in our hearts !! ha ha ha ha nahhh
The building does look better than it did. Another structure I have been thinking about is the MetLife building in Manhattan. Not bad looking ,just in the wrong place . If you can find early 60s photos of Park Ave. looking south and you will see a big difference. It too sets on top of a train hub.
We have a similar dull building in our area on New Zealand. In Auckland, New Lynn if you look up their apartments it's a dull building literally built on top of a main infrastructure transport hub for Auckland. But then not too far away you see a more pleasant building in Grey Lynn called the Tuitahi Residental Area. Westgate and Western Auckland are experiencing an epidemic of houses the size and price of mansions all looking the same and ending up at slums. Same goes for Semi-High ride apartment areas. Hobsonville Is a good example.
At least by comparison, the renovated building isn't that bad. As someone else mentioned, the weather will affect it's appearance a lot. On a sunny day, it should blend into the sky. Anything would be an improvement on the original structure.
I just had a look-see on street view. Some of the photos of the tower are pre refurbishment and some are later. So if you do a virtual wander about, you can see it magically get get less ugly.
If that is walking distance from your house then you must do the Tooting pear, the Wandle Tramway, and the large explosive thing that most people think is a cycleway!!!
Oh any my 1st time in the orange coloured hypermarket gave me short term traumatic shock! I was there over an hour and bought 3 items having gone to do a weekly shop.
When this was being built my father had to walk past it twice every day. By the time he got home his language to describe this building was unprintable. He hated it whilst it was being built, when it was finally built, and ever after!
Ah I remember this ugly tower, back when I was living in Balham (2004-2014) use to go to the PCworld in nearby industrial park to get electronics and receive soul crushing customer service (back before Amazon was a thing). The flaking paint and gloomy design of the building use to make the whole area feel like Detroit city!
The new development is an improvement. Better than what was. But we can't dwell on "I wouldn't have done that's!" In some views, what was, was better than what now is. It's all part of life. If these things are the worst of our problems, life is not too bad at all!
I like glass buildings. The original design was odd characterful, but there’s enough better looking brutalist buildings around. Interestingly though, it looks like it’s outside frame supported
Kind of weird (in 2010) to clad in shrink wrap of glass curtain wall, when since 2000’s everyone/everywhere else were returning to openable windows & natural ventilation. I think the condom-ing of what was a fairly nicely proportioned grid seems a waste of money. As a designer I would’ve sandblasted the concrete, sealed it, and added protruding + receding balconies where appropriate. The latter, receded, like a traditional Italian loggia,, offering weather protection & open air views. Wonder if it’s got a more massive window cleaning/maintenance budget?
The redeveloped tower is a huge improvement. It's still uncharacteristically large for the area, but the reflective glass means that it now blends into the sky and isn't so imposing.
Reflective glass: contemporary cloaking technology!
Fair point. The new version is cleverly boring so it's completely harmless to its surroundings. The old version was just depressingly boring which made you want to jump off said building
The old version looks far too hideous to be boring.
Its a childhood memory i remember just waiting for it to develop into something
It's looks like every other modern high rise apartment, glass cladded sh!te. I liked it the way it used to look.
im very dissapointed that colliers wood is, in fact, not made of wood
There is an interesting especially for London wooden church spire there.
Is there even any coal?
@@michaelgreen1515 It had better be made of wood!
Natalie Wood was also not made of wood , but she was a rather wooden actress
@@balista7406 But does she float?
I lived in Colliers Wood for years and I ended up almost loving the monstrosity. It was so universally hated I think I felt sorry for it. Also it looked a bit like the gates to Mordor, it really was disgusting. However it was memorable, whereas the new effort is just dull and safe which sums up London in the 21st Century really.
There is a very salient point made in the comments: it hasn't burnt down due to poor cladding.
Or to me more precise; it hasn't burned down Yet.
And as for Grenfell... far more was wrong with that eyesore, than the cladding. A fatal accident of some sort involving the vile '70's spam can was inevitable.
I disagree. The Grenfell's new cladding did exactly what it was supposed to do.
“In implicit acknowledgement that property developers are inhuman psychopaths who care only about money”
The company owning Grenfell were probably counting on their fire insurance to pay up.
When I was younger, I thought a massive fire had occurred because of how dull and grey/black it looked, especially when it was a cloudy day. It didn't help that it the netting made it look so much worse, but at least now it doesn't look awful to look at.
They didn't decide to pretty it up with cladding,which would probably now have to be removed because of the fire danger.
The netting just spoke to anyone within eye distance: STAY AWAY
You know, when I went back to Collier's Wood a year or two ago, I was shocked when I saw the Brown & Root tower!
I was shocked because my entire teen life would pass that daily, and that ugly car park.
My girlfriend at the time didn't understand why I was shocked. I hadn't known of any developments since the green netting being put up.
Merton council pushed the offshore owners to get a move on, but had to compromise on room sizes and any affordability (none)
I’m a photographer from Mexico. I’ve been in London three times for a grand total of about eight days and every time, I take hundreds of photographs for my work with Getty Images. When I get home, I have to start researching the places of every single photo I took, so I end up using the Wikipedia and Google Maps and literally retrace every single step I took in those trips so I can know the place I photographed, a bit about its history, the street or intersections, general sector of the city, etc. These kinds of videos (and your channel), I find FASCINATING. Every time I’ve gone to the UK, I’ve actually stayed for about three weeks but twice in Oxford and once in Stratford-upon-Avon. The London trips end up being just weekend trips so I’ve never been able to REALLY, REALLY go DEEP into getting to know this city. I’ve been fascinated by England and London since 1990 and call myself lucky that I’ve been able to go three times now. Until next time that I can go, which will probably not be before mid-2022, your wonderful videos give me a great insight into a city which I consider one of the most fascinating places on Earth. Thank you very much!
You’re very welcome! Glad you’re enjoying my stuff!
@@JagoHazzard very much! It's like walking around with a friend who REALLY knows his stuff about every single place he shows you LOL
I noticed that with the glazing, on days when it's largely sunny with a few fluffy clouds, it almost disappears into the background...well, at least from a distance.
“In implicit acknowledgement that property developers are inhuman psychopaths who care only about money” lot hit the nail on the head there
Classic scathing Jagoesque phrase.
But property developers provide housing. Without them where would you live? in some Victorian slum? Sounds nice.
@@davidwebb2318 Given that this particular story specifically involves a developer weaseling out of a commitment to... uh... _provide housing,_ your line of defense seems a bit off.
When I was studying at nearby St Georges we called it Collywood. It was the favoured destination of many medical students for a quick curry after work, because one could easily walk there from the hospital! Meanwhile its larger and more distant cousin Morden lost out, because as every good Lord Of The Rings fan knows "one does not simply walk into Morden!" ;-)
If you grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland, you got used to seeing a lot of grey (granite) buildings....
@TheRenaissanceman65 Probably different , and not this black stuff
If you knew the slightest bit about Aberdeen and its architecture you'd wind your neck in, Dick Wadd.
Its not this ugly. And at least the building are in character not a massive 3d rectangle in the middle of nowhere.
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Deluded
Minecraft in real life
Looks like the doomed 'Thompson Tower' from the 'Thunderbirds' episode 'City Of Fire'.
Never a good omen XD.
If it ever does go up in flames I hope the emergency services don't have to cut through as many subterranean steel doors as International Rescue had to.
Before the tube station Colliers Wood had William Morris's Liberty dyeworks, so it would have had a polluted river.
Ah yes, up at Merton Abbey Mills. These days it’s such a pleasant place to walk,.
@@JagoHazzard @Shaun House. Littlers for Libertys (at Merton Abbey Mills Site), sent their dirty water to Morris (at the Coppermills Site on Merton High Street - now part Savacentre (except its not is now Merton Retail Centre or something like that a Sainsburys and M&S). Not to be confused with the Flour Mills (later Conollys Leather later flats ), nor the Coppermills off North of Plough Lane or the Paper Mills (Bowaters) to the north of that on the Wandle behind what was the dog track, not to be confused with the Coppermills further up (down?) the Wandle near Earlsfield or the Mills to the South of King Georges Park (and the Airfix factory) or the Mill at near where the Wandle Meets the thames. Other water wheel mills may have existed from time to time too. Oh, and Liberty designs, not to confuse with William Morris Designs not to be confused with De Morgan's designs for ceramic tiles for a while at Colliers Wood (his wife did not like the air and they re-located to Chiswick - oddly not too far from where Nelson and The Hamiltons were considering buying there out of town property until they found Merton Place , near , but not in , Colliers Wood.
My Dad was born and raised in Colliers Wood and worked at the Board Mills, now the site of the Savacentre. Colliers Wood was a different place then, it was quite industrial and the Wandle was very polluted. Industry went ,jobs went, the river is now clean.
@@highpath4776 yes the Wandle had a lot of mills on it. I understand at the peak there was on average one every couple hundred yards
@@JagoHazzard Some strange effulent in the Pickle ditch a couple of days ago.
Granted this is a vast improvement on the horror which blighted the landscape for decades, what concerns me most is the weird Perspex-like shell which suggests the windows can't be opened. How is this building ventilated? Who would want to live or work - in the new "virus reality" - in a building where fresh air has been outlawed and air-conditioning is king? Also, post-Grenfell, what is the status of this covering/cladding? Flammable, inflammable? Flammable...? Inflammable? Better with... or without?
I think the cladding is safe, but I’m afraid the ventilation is a mystery to me. It will be interesting to see how the virus affects future projects.
Agreed the ventilation should be in the planning application documents, it appears that air con with UV can mitigate virus spread but would I rely on it ?
@@highpath4776 personally I don't think anything is better than fresh air and sunlight for overall health.
I doubt the ventilation system is communal, normally you have a heat recovery ventilator for each apartment with its own direct ductwork to outside, you can see that some of the cladding is louver'd no doubt for these services.
@@edc1569 Also, it is more important that you get fresh air in, it is not as if air is normally recycled. There is a huge difference between an air conditioning unit on the wall cooling the air and a system to heat or cool ventilgation air.
Would not be much of ventilation if you got your neighbours used air.
Now, it looks like someone made a tower block, using only the translucent Lego! I like it.
#LegolovingYank
Better a tower which is ugly and boring than one which has been clad with stupid highly flammable panels.
What this thing is now clad in wasn't mentioned though.
That; and cladding's main purpose is thermal insulation, which tower blocks need far more of than traditional houses.
Moral of the story: Avoid flats built &/or refirbed by councils / housing associations, as the workmanship & materials will always be from the lowest bidder.
I worked on the 13th floor of Lyon Tower in 1971. It was owned at the time by Ronald Lyon a property developer who went bankrupt.
Have to admit - when I first saw the title...I thought the building was made of wood.
The name of this place is the southernmost station to refer to the ancient "Great North Wood" as in Norwood. It dates back to when collier referred to charcoal burning, coal not yet being dug out of the ground but only retrieved from the shore which was known as seacoal. BTW the only alleged remnant of the wood is Sydenham Hill Wood which follows the only surviving part of the former railway to Crystal Palace High Level.
Down here on the Jersey side of the Hudson, there used to be scores of those types of buildings along the affluent corridors built up alongside our two large toll motorways. CEOs and their sort would often zoom in on the directly-connected airport (EWR), while us hirelings stifled our grumbles, and did our best to smile as we worked in those soulless concrete boxes.
Ironically, while most people had to take those same motorways to work, the north half of the state is also home to one of the last refuges of regional commuter rail here, and it's quite extensive by US standards. It's shame that it's all so run down now.
I clicked on this because I erroneously read "Towering, Inferno" at first!
I have only been to Colliers Wood once
to buy some shoes
when I was staying with a friend in Balham
and my old shoes fell apart
Colliers Wood had two sports shops
in a shopping complex.
I remember thinking it was a very car-centric retail park.
Britannia Tower also seemed very isolated.
I am sure that didn't help.
Having spent most of my life living in various places within about a five or six mile radius (at one time I even lived a 15 minute walk away) of the monstrosity that this building used to be, I have to say that the refurbishment is nothing short of miraculous! It was one of those places that you never looked directly at for fear of acknowledging its existence. Then to add insult to injury, in the late 80s they built the hideous Sainsbury's Savacentre almost next door, something that resembled an enormous Samsonite suitcase laying on its side. There was no hope for poor Colliers Wood, which I had always thought of as an area lacking in heart and purpose anyway, seemingly developed to fill an empty void between Tooting, Wimbledon and Mitcham. Although they did give it a tube station, so it had to be good for something. But now it has a nice gleaming skyscraper, so there's hope for poor Colliers Wood yet!
Used to work round there... was strangely fond of the building and for some reason used to enjoy standing at the bottom and staring up at it with the clouds racing past
Is it just my friendship bubble, or is it more the older generations who don't like Brutalist architecture?
Personally I think it's far more attractive and interesting than the Glass, White and Faceless theming that a lot of modern buildings lean into and fail hard.
Brutalist architecture is honest and upfront. It also feels more personal than the faceless buildings that take their place.
It is nice to see it getting recognition and increasing admiration though, in my local big town: Basildon, New developments are actually leaning into emulating or complementing the existing Brutalism.
I think architecture needs time to be appreciated. In the 30s they were convinced there was no merit in Victorian architecture, for instance.
@Seymour Crack Thanks for your opinion there. Someone clearly doesn't like Le Courbousier.
Still think the Barbican and Trellick tower would look absolutely stunning if the concrete was cleaned back to the original finish.
Its not the external appearence as such, it was the orientation to the prevailing winds, and the problem of insulating concreate finishes, I like the Brunswick centre in St Pancras for example. Before the tower and car park were built there was little in the area, the coffin works of a funeral directors primarily, and the farriers and harness makers survived I think until the one way cut through of ?priory way? was built. Lyon Tower was one of the strange bits of the 1960s, a modern looking building in a £sd World. But you also have to recall Merton was still in Surrey when this was started, though with a london postcode even before 1965 I think . With Millers Mead (bow street runners stables opposite and Surrey weatherboarding two storey properties nearby and if an attempt to match the station it failed. Perhaps if it had been over the station and built in collaboration with LTE it might have worked better on that site rather than the site (cheap?) chosen
Totally agree,i got a bit of flack for saying theres no finer estate on the Barbican video comments and telling the rabid dislikers of the Barbican to go back to their cottages,thatched or untatched
Give me a top flat on Cromwell tower and the views and keep your rotten Mayfair mansion,i say
every demolition of the brutalist building is a festive time.
Definite improvement. Was an eyesore. Still too big for the area but at least those that couldn’t quite afford Wimbledon but needed an SW19 postcode.. got one 😉
Colliers Wood's residents can now sing a 'Texas Love Song' by Charlie Robison; 'You're not the best, but you're the best that I can get'
The old photos of the tower made me wonder if the architects wanted to emulate the US Steel building in Pittsburgh, but with masonry and not Core-10 steel, and the refurbished tower made me think of another tall building in Pittsburgh, PPG Place (PPG stands for Pittsburgh Plate Glass)
Yeah I was thinking the same thing about the U.S. Steel building (lived in Pittsburgh for a couple of years). They clearly missed the mark though because I think that the U.S. Steel building is nice looking (besides fitting the history of the city)
It’s Cor-Ten but I’m just picking nits. I worked for USS in the 90’s. There is a 2 story prototype of the USS building in Monroeville PA on the site of the former USS research center. There is your useless trivia for the day.
I've just recently discovered your channel and I love how informative you are yet there's always subtle humour that I love. Being from London there's so many buildings and stations I've passed by and I had no idea of the history behind them. I just walked on by. Certainly won't now
Jago Hazard, you make an accurate assessment of property developers. They make a fortune out of building sometimes dubious quality structures. They argue to the council that they need to make exclusively "high end" accommodation to "rebalance the area socially and economically". (Translation: Social cleansing). Reluctantly, they agree to include a low number of social and affordable (to almost no one) properties. Then, during the building phase, they return to the council saying that they can no longer afford to build any social or affordable places or will have to abandon the development. Pressed for a proper explanation, they argue that they cannot because it is "commercially confidential". The idea of the new residents being all Tory voting suits the Tory councillors who are really happy to give in.
I used to have nightmares about being chased in that building. I've never seen the inside but because of how the outside looked I imagined it being hollow, abandoned and falling apart.
I used to get the creeps walking past it as well.
It really did look like the SimCity abandoned building, holy crap.
Tolworth Tower is another out of place Icon, albeit a lot more pleasant looking than the Colliers Wood tower used to be. It's undergoing conversion to apartments I believe.......
I spent about a couple of months on a course in The Tower in about 2006-7. Yes it was very hideous, easy to find though and fond memories.
If I had a penny for every time I passed that tower I would be a rich man. The pub opposite was very good, then redundant and appeared as an S&M club in the bill, which is now an excellent but overpriced middle eastern restaurant. Worst was when I had to wait to change buses there. Oh, those heady days at Tooting.
I worked in the Brown & Root tower late 80's early 90's and really enjoyed that pub over the road - good beer garden! There was a twin tower called Burlington House in Dover, which has now been demolished. Also saw a similar building in Berlin.
Covering it in glass is even less imaginative, but at least somewhat less offensive to the eye.
I grew up in Mitcham and regularly passed by the Brown & Root tower. I never disliked how it originally looked. For me, it was the essence of brutalist architecture and I loved how distinct and to the point it looked. Personally, I think it looked better before the redevelopment. That being said, maybe it's a nostalgia thing. It was simpler days for me when the tower was in it's original state. I started secondary school around the time they put the netting up and demolished the car park, maybe it's largely childhood memories that make me favour the original look.
Imagine my surprise when the real ale pub (sited next to the Holiday Inn Express and (sort of) opposite this abomination) and named for the Northern Line station architect himself, Charles Holden, wasn't name checked in the video. Admittedly, it may have been closed due to, you know, *reasons*, but it fits in nicely to this story and your other fab Colliers Wood-related vids. That's all I have to say, thanks!
Your point about developers... yep. Love that you don’t pull your punches.
I was rather fond of Brown And Root House. In the '70s it was much darker. I recall it was done up in the '80s and was almost black. My maternal grandfather used to live in Fortescue road, just off Christchurch Road. When very young I went out with Mum and Dad on a Saturday. "We're going to Granddad's," (Great!) "after we've done the shopping." (Oh no!) So for hours and hours and hours we'd traipse around the shops. Get in the car to go to more shops, get back in the car to go back to the shops we'd just left! Then back in the car, by this time young Chris had lost the will to live! When Brown And Root house came into view it meant the shopping was done and we were nearly at Granddad's! I was a little sad they'd clad it...although I must admit that it does look better.
Got friends down fortescue road, clarion housing have just finished building some low rise flats in the former thames water site off the wimbledon and tooting railway line
@@highpath4776 Is the nature reserve still on on the old sewage works off the railway line? Discovering that when out for exercise was one of the things that saved me goung to the "smoke".
@@michaelgreen1515 Yes
I worked on the sewage farm at the end of Bygrove Road, Stevensons board mills and Merton board mills, all in the '60's and both the board mills and Connolly's used the Wandle.
I used to pick up construction equipment from a plant yard near there called Chas Brand & Son. We were constructing the Victoria Line Tube and later I was transporting stuff down to Chepstow in Wales for a tunnel under the rivers Severn and Wye. There was a café there that Henry Cooper went in, great breakfast.
You have made me miss the days where I had something capable of running SC2K (and the SCURK) without either ludicrous speed or emulating the dos version... it really *does* resemble the abandoned sprites!
I used to live in Colliers Wood for a year or so, right next to the station - some time around 2008 or so. I remember the tower being rather menacing. Glad to see they've redeveloped it.
And, of course, for the past year the lower reaches of the Dark Tower (as I still know it) have been enrobed in scaffolding because one of the new windows fell out... The landlord, Asif Aziz, was named in the House last week by our MP. (I'll say no more on that matter.)
Lovely to see my neck of the woods get the Hazzard treatment. I didn't spot it first time round...
Not as bad as it used to be..... how are you going to explain that to the next generation. Its still ugly. The community got nothing that was promised and the purpose of the building remains unclear. Good Grief. Thanks again Jago
If you meant the original priory park proposals they were long forgotten by sainsburys. the new glass cladding is Ok and the best of a bad job, as i said the flats can only be rented, they- unless tory govt changes rules, are too small room size to comply with habital room regulations.
I disagree, looks fine.
@@highpath4776 that always makes me laugh. It is OK to rent but not OK to live in!
Doesn't Britain already have plenty to explain to the next generation... or will they be allowed to?
I lived in the area in 2008. Back then we called the tower the "Tower of Mordor". It also had a pretty tree next to it that blossomed with plastic "flowers" (a multitude of plastic bags) in the winter. Those "flowers" were obscured by leaves in the summer.
A really delightful tale about a utterly ridiculous waste of concrete -
I remember when I was a kid,i thought the tower was under construction and I never knew it was actually finished!
I remember it well...my grandparents lived in Colwood gardens
"This roadblock removed..." An absolute masterclass in dry British wit.
The wide shot of the "new" version is like a scene from exurban Japan. The whole aesthetic of a mostly low-rise residential area with a single moderate skyscraper on a street corner, and a high-tension power pylon lurking in the background, feels like the establishing shot at the beginning of any given episode of a modern Ultraman series, right before a giant monster enters the shot and knocks it down. :)
"not as bad as it used to be"
Whatever personality it had was ripped out and was made into a generic glass clad monster. Such an improvement.
agreed
Can you imagine how in 2050 we will all most likely be looking down on the modern "glass clad monsters" just like we look down on the 60's brutalist monstrosities?
I'm not a fan of brutalism myself, but there are some decent designs out there. This wasn't one of them.
It surprises me now to think that I used to walk (aged about 12-15, in the early 1950s) from South Wimbledon to Clapham Common and halfway down Acre Lane towards Brixton and the one area I can't recall at all, is beyond Merton Bus Garage (past South Wimbledon) to Tooting Broadway, namely Colliers Wood.. The advantage is that the existence of this building would have haunted me to this day, had it been built then!! The Borough of Merton itself, when created, occupied Crown House, Morden, another monstrosity, along with its nearby neighbour, the building astride Morden Tube Station.
Somehow missed this one the first time around. Only realised it wasn't new at the very end.
I used to live close to this building. Another reason it was viewed this way was because of the parking lot structure next to it
I actually really like how it looked before. Obviously it was grimy but I think all it really needed was a clean. Looks a bit sterile now
Was expecting a tower made of wood...
the part about property developers only caring about money is spot on
Sad to see such an iconic and uniquely British building get redeveloped like that. Dark and dreary, that best describes a summer's day in London 😛
Have you ever been to London in the Summer? The average day is sunny, warm to hot and pretty humid. This tower looks like it would fit in an abandoned Soviet city in outer Siberia not London.
It’s only ‘sad to see’ because you don’t live there and have to look at it every day.
Bits are still falling off it. A window fell out yesterday. Luckily no one injured.
looks like what the ministry of love would look like in nineteen eighty-four
Definitely better! Is it being used at present?
The company I worked for did rent some space for temporary offices around the turn of the century. I was impressed with the lifts - smooth and fast! Don’t know how reliable they were, only visited occasionally.
It does appear to be fairly well occupied, although one of the shops has been held up by the pandemic. The shops seem to do pretty well.
@@JagoHazzard The Dough company is doing pizza offers now, my waistline wont allow me to sample them
It would appear that five property developers have watched this.
Hahahah,surely
Worked in the "black stump" in the 90s. Whenever it was windy, the windows started falling out and it used to create a vortex around the shops built around it . Awful place.
I remember it well, frequently passed it, looked like it was burnt-out.
As for buildings looking out of place, how about the monstrous Crown House in Morden, also under Merton council.
Reminds me of our Town Hall here in Aalesund. Concrede block from the 80s with parts falling off. Was also covered in glass in recent years. Was said to be the ugliest building in the city.
I used to do a weekly car trip from Morden to Oval and remember this back in the 60s. Mind you that whole journey was grotty in those days before buildings started to be cleaned of soot. I looked down on the “inner city” coming from the leafy suburbs of Morden. All changed now and you need to be a millionaire to live there.
What was that sign that said "Kiss Me Hardy". Some reference to Lord Nelson?
Oh, the British sarcasm! Love the channel.
Jago. Unconnected with this video -fascinated with the information about Leicester monorail! How do you know all this stuff? DOing more research. May even consider doing my own video on the subject
I cannot believe that is still the same building.
it is not ill-though on your part... same happens in BA my hometown... developers can do what they want and the town hall says well good for you... and for us! council housing construction is shoddy if existent! your wording was accurate indeed (as it usually is :) )
in 2003 i was sent to job club in that building by the jobcentre.
And I thought the JCP (Joy Crushing People) were brutal in our part of the country XD.
so, it's just as joy-crushing as I saw in that excellent multipart documentary, "The Job Lot?" ;)
I remember i got a job from that jobclub with Crystal Palace fc, in the bars.
that year they sacked stevie kenber and hired Ian dowie then got promoted to the Premiership via the playoffs.
fun times.
one of the perks was watching premier league football and letting some of my friends in lol
I used to live very close to it. In Mitcham now. Always "The Black Building" when talked about. My Kids used to go to SingleGate school. And the vortex from a not particularly high wind could lift you off your feet when walking by it. Was a favourite of 70's TV shows. The Sweeney etc, if an Office block was needed. But not the Budget for the city. The Cheese Grater when it was being rebuilt.
And Now !! back to The Black Building , as it has a special place in our hearts !! ha ha ha ha nahhh
it's so brown that the thumbnail looked like it was genuinely made out of wood. London really has its fair share of awful buildings it would seem
I liked the old tower
The building does look better than it did. Another structure I have been thinking about is the MetLife building in Manhattan. Not bad looking ,just in the wrong place . If you can find early 60s photos of Park Ave. looking south and you will see a big difference. It too sets on top of a train hub.
We have a similar dull building in our area on New Zealand. In Auckland, New Lynn if you look up their apartments it's a dull building literally built on top of a main infrastructure transport hub for Auckland. But then not too far away you see a more pleasant building in Grey Lynn called the Tuitahi Residental Area. Westgate and Western Auckland are experiencing an epidemic of houses the size and price of mansions all looking the same and ending up at slums. Same goes for Semi-High ride apartment areas. Hobsonville Is a good example.
I think it looked better before all the glass. Just needed some paint.
I remember it as Brown & Root back in the 70s
The influence of Mordor clearly spread... 🤣
At least by comparison, the renovated building isn't that bad. As someone else mentioned, the weather will affect it's appearance a lot. On a sunny day, it should blend into the sky. Anything would be an improvement on the original structure.
It had a, TO LET, sign at the top for years and always looked like the I should be there to complete, TOILET.
There was a big billboard in Mortlake once that got vandalised like that.
I just had a look-see on street view. Some of the photos of the tower are pre refurbishment and some are later. So if you do a virtual wander about, you can see it magically get get less ugly.
I thought this would be a tower made of wood.
me too.
I was wondering... what is the name of the creek (river) on the right side of the road @1:45 🙏🏼
The Wandle
If that is walking distance from your house then you must do the Tooting pear, the Wandle Tramway, and the large explosive thing that most people think is a cycleway!!!
Oh any my 1st time in the orange coloured hypermarket gave me short term traumatic shock! I was there over an hour and bought 3 items having gone to do a weekly shop.
@@michaelgreen1515 I used to buy toliet rolls and cat food, but the cat died in August.
@@michaelgreen1515 "explosive thing that people think is a cycle way"? Wow that sounds interesting!
Why was it built in the first place?
Modern architects and developers care only about money, and it shows.
Architects also care about being slapped on the back by other architects for being hacks.
I preferred it the way it used to look to be honest. I love imposing, stark buildings.
So the original architect saw Chernobyl and though hmm 🤔 let’s have a bit of that in London!
When this was being built my father had to walk past it twice every day. By the time he got home his language to describe this building was unprintable. He hated it whilst it was being built, when it was finally built, and ever after!
Ah I remember this ugly tower, back when I was living in Balham (2004-2014) use to go to the PCworld in nearby industrial park to get electronics and receive soul crushing customer service (back before Amazon was a thing).
The flaking paint and gloomy design of the building use to make the whole area feel like Detroit city!
The new development is an improvement. Better than what was. But we can't dwell on "I wouldn't have done that's!" In some views, what
was, was better than what now is. It's all part of life. If these things are the worst of our problems, life is not too bad at all!
Huge improvement 👏👏
Prior to be redeveloped, the building made me feel sick!
I like glass buildings. The original design was odd characterful, but there’s enough better looking brutalist buildings around. Interestingly though, it looks like it’s outside frame supported
Yes and a glass window from it has just fallen 130 feet out of it.
"Not as bad as it used to be" hardly justifies the expensive refurbishment. The apartments in the building are exactly cheap to rent either.
Kind of weird (in 2010) to clad in shrink wrap of glass curtain wall, when since 2000’s everyone/everywhere else were returning to openable windows & natural ventilation. I think the condom-ing of what was a fairly nicely proportioned grid seems a waste of money. As a designer I would’ve sandblasted the concrete, sealed it, and added protruding + receding balconies where appropriate. The latter, receded, like a traditional Italian loggia,, offering weather protection & open air views. Wonder if it’s got a more massive window cleaning/maintenance budget?
I always assumed it was that colour due to all the traffic fumes...😅