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Southwyck House, also known as the "Barrier Block", is a large housing building on the Somerleyton Estate in Brixton, south London. It was commissioned by Lambeth Council and approved by a planning committee which included future prime minister John Major.
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Design
The block is in the Brutalist style and has similarities to Park Hill, Sheffield and Byker Wall, Tyneside. The block has 176 properties in total, consisting of 3 low rise flats and 173 high rise flats.
It was designed in 1968-70 by a team of architects including Magda Borowiecka, and built between 1972-1981. It was planned for the South Cross Route motorway to pass adjacent to the building.
Residents of the building suffered from crime including burglary and the use of heroin and crack cocaine, and so alterations were made to the building in the 1990s to improve security.