Balfron Tower residents star in their own photoshoot

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.