1 bed Flat For Sale £595,000
Stanley Cohen House, Golden Lane Estate, London EC1Y

This wonderful apartment on the sought-after Golden Lane Estate is favourably located on the top floor of Stanley Cohen House, with a generous roof terrace and views over the communal gardens and the Barbican towers beyond.

The Grade II* estate was listed for the its visionary approach to residential architecture and pre-empts many of the features that architects Chamberlin, Powell & Bon became known for with their later success at the Barbican. Stanley Cohen House runs along the Golden Lane frontage of the estate and is particularly striking for its reinforced-concrete frame, shuttered-concrete end walls, pilotis and sculptural concrete stairs with open steel balustrades, visible from the street. Notably a three-dimensional map of the estate is inlaid into one of its external walls. This particular block was named for Stanley Edward Cohen, who in 1954 was the chairman of the Public Health Committee, which in turn was responsible for the Golden Lane Estate.

This particular apartment has been lovingly renovated by the current owner to create a light-filled contemporary home, making use of a refined palette of colours and materials. Entry is on the third floor of the building, along a communal open walkway and through its own front door. To the left is the bespoke kitchen with stainless-steel cupboards, countertops and Vitsoe open shelving. The countertop and splashback are formed from a single piece of steel, with the hob seamlessly welded in. Original black tiles still line the floor. On the other side of the hallway is an open-plan living and dining room, with dual aspect glazing bathing the space in light throughout the day. Shelving runs along one wall while poured-resin floors are used underfoot. A glazed floor-to-ceiling door opens onto a large south-west facing roof terrace with stainless-steel planters.

A set of double doors separate the living area from the bedroom on the other side. This also has views over the terrace and the rest of the estate. Here the owner has cleverly designed custom additional clothes storage to wrap around the head of the bed.

The shower room has high curved ceilings and a skylight which contribute to the excellent sense of volume.

The estate was designed to be inward-facing, and this flat has excellent views of the colourful blocks that comprise it. As lan Nairn felt in 1967, Golden lane has ‘a powerful sense of place’, and this apartment makes the most of the intended beauty of inner-city life. In 1957 the architects claimed, ‘There is no attempt at the informal in these courts. We regard the whole scheme as urban. We have no desire to make the project look like a garden suburb’.

This area has excellent restaurants, pubs and bars, including the nearby Smithfield Market. All of the Barbican Arts Centre facilities are also in easy walking distance. There are fantastic transport links, with Underground stations at nearby Barbican (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines), Old Street (Northern Line), Farringdon (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines) and Moorgate (Northern, Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan Lines). On the imminent opening of the Elizabeth Line, Farringdon will become one of the main Crossrail stations, with the entrance just a five-minute walk away.

The Golden Lane Estate was built in the 1950 and 1960s to a design by the newly-formed practice Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, who later designed the Barbican Estate.

Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: Approx. 85 years
Service Charge: Approx. £1,421 per annum
Ground Rent: Approx £10 per annum
Council Tax Band: C