Excalibur Estate is an estate of prefabricated buildings in Catford, London. The buildings were meant to be a temporary solution to wartime destruction, though they still stand today. In recent plans they are planned to be replaced by modern new builds; there are protests about this in the community.

Wireframe of the modular shapes

Locals are in two minds, some had lived there since birth and wanted to stay in their homes. Some had recently moved in and were worried about the health hazards of such buildings.

I decided the typeface should reflect the buildings themselves and so chose to make a modular typeface inspired by the shapes of the pieces that fit together to make the houses. This was done by hand and then translated into Glyphs.

I created a type specimen printed on tracing paper so each sheet could be layered referencing architectural drawings. The type is sparse in nature reflecting the deterioration of the buildings.

Lady from the estate

Pre-fab building on Excalibur Estate