The iconic Cranbrook Estate through a photographer’s lens [photoessay]
Local photographer Claire Watts photographs an insider’s view of the famous Cranbrook Estate on Roman Road in Globe Town, East London.
The Cranbrook Estate opened in 1964, much before most of the other council estates in the area. Francis Skinner, Douglas Bailey and Berthold Lubetkin were the architects who designed the estate. Lubetkin was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. As well as Cranbrook, his work includes the Highpoint housing complex in Highgate, the London Zoo penguin pool, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate. You can read more about the history of the Cranbrook estate’s transformation from slums to iconic post-war estate here.
Watts specialises in shooting architecture and people and shot Cranbrook Estate as part of a personal project for Architecture Week. The Cranbrook Estate is local to Watts and is an important part of her community. Watts has lived in Bethnal Green for five years and loves waking up to the squawk of parakeets on their way to Victoria Park.
You might be interested in reading about the history of Cranbrook Estate in Globe Town, or for more of Watts’ photography, head to her Instagram. You might also be interested in reading about Rachel Whiteread’s House in Bow