Upon his return to London, Kenneth Frampton became an
associate of Douglas Stephen & Partners
(DSP),
a small but dynamic architects' firm in the City Centre
and one of the most progressive practices in London at
the time. The firm attracted talented young architects
such as Panos Kowlermos and Peter Stonebridge.
Kenneth Frampton designed Corringham in 1960-62. The
exterior style of the main building is minimalist and
functional, reflecting Kenneth Frampton's interest in
the architectural style of the "Neue Sachlichkeit". The
service tower is highly modelled to contrast with the
simple pattern of the main block. Kenneth Frampton
acknowledges the influence of James Stirling in the
architecture of this part of Corringham.
When the apartment block was Grade II listed in 1998
the listing authority hailed it as "Douglas Stephen &
Partners' most coherent design of the sixties, and
their most interesting". Apart from a housing scheme in
New York, Corringham remains Kenneth Frampton's only
substantial architectural work.
For three years in the early sixties, Kenneth Frampton
worked as a technical editor for the progressive
and critical magazine "Architectural Design"
(AD).
One of his contributions was the production of a series of
brighthly coloured monthly covers with abstracted
architectural themes. The September 1964 edition, which
includes an article about Corringham by the Douglas Stephen
and Partners, has a bright red and purple cover which
references the building's split-level "scissor section".
Kenneth Frampton migrated to the United States in 1965.
He worked for the School of Architecture at Princeton
University until 1972 and has been affiliated to the
Columbia University in New York ever since. He was Chairman
of the Division of Architecture from 1986 to 1989 and
became director of the Ph.D. programme History and Theory of
Architecture in 1993. He is Ware Professor Emeritus
at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture,
Planning and Preservation
(GSAPP).
Kenneth Frampton also worked as visiting professor at schools
of architecture worldwide, and revisited London to teach at
the Royal College of Art and the Bartlett School
of Architecture.