Adjaye Associates and Cullinan Studio are among six architecture firms working to generate ideas for the refurbishment of London's Lancaster West Estate, where Grenfell Tower is located.
The architects, along with Levitt Bernstein, Maccreanor Lavington, Murray John Architects and Penoyre Prasad, with landscape architect Andy Sturgeon Design and consultant Twinn Sustainability Innovation, are all exploring ideas for the future of the estate.
The work does not include Grenfell Tower, which was destroyed by a fatal fire in June 2017. This building is currently subject to a public inquiry that will determine its future.
Each of the architects is looking in detail at one or several of the estate's other blocks and will create a "ideas book of design ideas, resident feedback and proposals for early projects" for each.
The firms will also work together to present ideas for the walkways between each of the blocks.
Following this initial consultation, which is due to end this month, the residents will work with the Lancaster West Residents' Association, the UK government's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to select architects to further progress the ideas.
No architects have yet been selected to carry out the design work on the estate.
The fire at Grenfell Tower took place on 14 June 2017 and caused 71 fatalities. The cladding panels, which were added during a refurbishment, are believed to have helped spread the flames.
The disaster prompted an emergency safety review of 4,000 similar buildings across the UK.
"Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy there was a clear recognition of the need to make real improvements around the estate," read a display board presented at a Lancaster West Estate ideas meeting.
The architects for the current stage of the consultation were initially selected by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government with the local residents' association adding a couple of names.
The architects were selected for their "relevant experience and skills and because we work collaboratively with residents as part of a co-design process".
The council want the resident-led renovation process to set the precedent for the future refurbishment of the borough's estates.
"Residents on the Lancaster West estate are already working with us on the multi-million pound refurbishment of their homes," said Kim Taylor-Smith, Deputy Leader, Kensington and Chelsea Council, at a full council meeting held earlier this month.
"They are in the driving seat, creating their model estate. It is an approach I want to see repeated across all our estates."
The fire at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower near Notting Hill broke out in the early hours of 14 June. The tower had been refurbished, with new aluminium composite panels added to the facade of the building, the previous summer.
Following the disaster the government launched an independent review of building and fire safety regulations. An interim report by the review committee found that fire-safety guidance and regulations for high-rise buildings are not currently fit for purpose.
At present the site of the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in west London is expected to be turned into a memorial to the people killed in the disaster.
Image is by ChiralJon/Wikimedia Commons.
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