Shortly before 1am on Wednesday (June 14), a horrific fire tore through a 40-year-old block of flats in North Kensington , leaving 17 dead and many more in hospital.

More than 200 firefighters battled the inferno as it raged through nearly every single floor of the 27-storey Grenfell Tower.

But what did the building look like before the tragedy?

These images show a tower block in the brutalist style of architecture, with up to 130 flats inside.

The view of Grenfell Tower in 2011

The building underwent a substantial multi-million pound renovation in 2016 , including the installation of insulated exterior cladding, which can be seen in this photo dated from last year

Grenfell Tower in North Kensington

The exterior of the 1973-built tower was also modernised with replacement windows, while additional homes were added using vacant space in the building.

It has been suggested that the design of the building could have led to the blaze spreading, though there is no official confirmation yet.

Experts have now spoken of the potential dangers of tower block cladding, claiming it can create an additional fire risks with witnesses saying the cladding "went up like a matchstick" .

But the construction firm which carried out the refurbishment have said it met “all required standards”.

And these pictures show the view from the tower, with London disappearing into the background.

View from Grenfell Tower before the blaze

A lot of the capital can be seen in these photos, which document the immense scale and height of the block.

Westfield Shopping Centre seen from Grenfell Tower

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