Brutalist architecture may not be to everyone’s taste, but there are plenty of people out there who think it’s really cool, actually and shouldn’t be messed with. One of those people is acclaimed artist Tracey Emin, who is currently at the head of a campaign to save Margate’s ‘brutalist masterpiece’, Arlington Tower.
The 18-storey residential block has loomed over the town’s seafront since 1963. It’s not at risk of being demolished or anything like that, but it is at risk of getting... new windows.
A planning application has been submitted for the building’s original single glazed sliding windows with double glazed tilt-and-turn windows. Tracey Emin owns a flat in the building and alongside around 200 other residents and campaigners argues that the change would alter the iconic design and ruin the architectural character and authenticity of the building.
Emin said: ‘Arlington House is a historic building in Margate, at the time of its construction Margate was booming and it was an emblem of the future
‘In the last few decades it’s been left to go to rack and ruin without care or respect for its monumental brutalist architecture. If this building were in any European town or city it would have been protected from the beginning. It should be listed and renovated back to its original beauty.’
The building’s leaseholder says that the window replacements are part of a wider refurbishment scheme that will benefit those who live in Arlington and the surrounding area. It argues that the difference between the old and new windows are ‘minimal’.
Not all residents are opposed to new windows. One told Kent Online that ‘none of [the current windows] fit properly and they're all draughty. The wind howls through them.’ Another said that the cost of heating is astronomical because of them.
The planning application is with Thanet District Council, but no decision has been made on the windows yet.
Time Out in Margate
Home to one of our coolest neighbourhoods of 2022, we’re big fans of Margate here at Time Out. So, naturally, we’ve got comprehensive expert guides to the town’s best things to do, best restaurants and best Airbnbs to stay in.
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