The UK’s £113m tower with wind turbines on top that can’t turn on for ridiculous reason
The Strata SE1 Tower was billed as a modern source of green energy, but it hasn't panned out that way.
Strata SE1 Tower: Aerial views show London skyscraper
When the Strata SE1 tower in Elephant and Castle opened in June 2010, it marked the latest step in the area’s regeneration and was heralded as a fine example of eco-friendly architecture.
However, Londoners have noticed that one of the striking features of the 482ft residential building is never in use. The three giant turbines built into the roof of the £113.5 million structure were meant to be a source of green energy and the building’s potential to generate renewable power was key to securing its planning permission.
A promotional video for the building shows the turbines rotating, with one of the developers saying: “We’re sending a message that you can incorporate new technologies…and we can reduce the carbon footprint.” An engineer adds: “The three turbines are on and running.”
Critics have since accused the developers of “greenwashing” and in August 2010, the Strata SE1 was awarded the 2010 Carbuncle Cup for bad architecture. The unwanted gong recognised it as one of the “the ugliest buildings in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months”.
Since finishing construction, the residential bloc’s turbines were shut off, so they no longer spin.
In 2023, the chair of Southwark’s planning committee revealed that the turbines had been shut off due to the excessive noise and vibrations that permeated throughout the building.
Labour councillor Martin Seaton, who was not in post when the Strata SE1 was built, told MyLondon: “In the very early days on my first term, I received some complaints that residents were being disturbed by the blades spinning."
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He added: “The wind turbines haven’t worked since, mainly because of complaints of the noise disturbing residents.”
“It doesn’t work, it’s a white elephant. [The developers] didn’t take into account when the turbines span they’d vibrate throughout the building.
“It seems obvious to you and I, but the designers and planners are infinitely cleverer than us, and missed the blindingly obvious.”
He revealed that the chief-complainers lived near the top of the building: “The closer you were to the top, the louder it was, but it propagated throughout the building. How on earth the planners and designers missed it, I have no idea.”
Despite its critics, the Strata SE1 Tower is home to more than 1,000 residents and has 408 flats. Boris Johnson once dubbed the building ‘The Lipstick’ and added it had “a bit of oomph about it”.
