Perronet House

In 1969 Sir Roger Walters was commissioned by the Greater London Council to design a high density block of social housing to complement the already completed high rise buildings of commercial, educational and governmental establishments. It won a commendation in the 1971 Good Design In Housing awards.

It is a building of fascinating quirks, both structurally and socially. Flats are situated on a raised "P" (for PODIUM) level, and on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th floor. The P level flats are a later 1980s addition but all the flats above it are split level scissor section flats, arranged over three primary floors and wrapped around a central communal corridor. This provides each flat with a dual aspect unobstructed by external corridors more usually found on high rise social housing in the area.

Perronet House set itself up as a Tenant Managed Organisation (TMO) under the UK's 'Right to Manage' legislation for council houses. However it was Southwark's first TMO to fail and management of the block returned to the council in 2004.[1] In April 2012 a new Tenants and Residents Association was formed.

• Time Out London used images of the garden of the tenth floor communal sundeck in an article about Food Up Front, part of a feature on slow food.

See a scan of the article here

• The Guardian filmed guerrilla gardeners temporarily retreating to a Perronet House flat after an encounter with police while gardening on the Elephant and Castle north roundabout.

See the video here

• The book On Guerrilla Gardening by Richard Reynolds (Bloomsbury 2008) includes numerous photos and references to Perronet House and the building also appears illustrated on the back cover.

See more about the book here

In December 2007 Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah made a surprise visit to Perronet House. Her arrival made the front page of the South London Press. See a scan of the article here

• Perronet House Tenants and Resident Association

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  Perronet House viewed from the Elephant and Castle.
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  A view with showing the distinctive 'half floor' arrangement between the internal walkways (shown by the end windows) and the accommodation floors (shown by the side windows)
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  An estate agent's sold sign at the rear of Perronet House