The residents of the iconic Balfron Tower stepped onto their balconies last night (November 18) and struck poses in an unique photo shoot of the whole tower.

With the 27-storey housing block, which is home to 147 flats, illuminated by floodlights, artist Simon Terrill, who lives in the tower himself, took long-exposure shots of the whole building from nearby Glenkerry House.

Designed by Erno Goldfinger in 1963, Balfron, in St Leonard’s Road, Poplar, is a Grade-II listed building and will undergo regeneration works in 2012 organised by Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association (HARCA), which will see residents move to temporary accommodation.

Simon’s mural-sized photographs will form part of an exhibition running at The Nunnery in Bow Road in January 2011.

Halima Khanom, 21, a resident since she was two years old, said: “It’s really exciting.

“It’s been used for film shoots in the past but we’ve never had anything like this before.

“I thought of making a big banner, but that might have spoiled the photo. Fellow resident Forhana Begum, 25, said: “There is a very diverse community here. “Everybody is friendly so I definitely want to move back, the housing inside is brilliant.”

The photoshoot was supported by the Bows Arts Trust, Poplar HARCA and the National Lottery through Arts Council England.