Robin Hood Gardens by Alison & Peter Smithson

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This BBC documentary from 1970 entitled "The Smithsons on Housing" (produced by B.S. Johnson) follows married architects Alison & Peter Smithson throughout the planning and building phases of their seminal council estate in Poplar, East London; Robin Hood Gardens.
Completed in 1972, Robin Hood Gardens comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks of seven and ten stories (with an expansive green space in between), giving a total of 214 flats.
Built in an uncompromising Brutalist style, with use of 'streets in the sky', the estate experienced a rapid decline after its completion which has largely been attributed to council neglect and lack of investment, but was exacerbated by narratives against this type of architecture at the time (particularly from Oscar Newman and his 'Defensible Space' theory, Alice Coleman and Charles Jencks) and the challenging aesthetic of its Brutalist concrete construction.
The continual social and material decline of the estate culminated in a decision in 2008 by Tower Hamlets council to demolish the estate. This, however, was met with some high profile opposition, with The 20th Century Society and Richard Rogers arguing the historical significance of "the most important social housing development from the post-war era in Britain" which influenced many architects and housing estate designs.
These campaigns have ultimately failed and Robin Hood Gardens has not been granted the same level of protection (through Listed status) as other high profile Brutalist buildings of the same era. A very gradual process of decanting and demolition is now underway, as part of the 'Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project', which will see up to 1475 homes replacing the existing 214 on the estate.

Опубликовано:

7 мар 2016

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Комментарии : 14

@sciflyernineteensixtynine6950 3 года назад

You see why this project failed simply by listening to the Smithsons, condescending and egotistical, essentially espousing that they were doing society a favor by creating this monster and that they feared it might not be appreciated. Here they fail to ask the question of why there was so much vandalism and what were the root causes of it. What is vandalism symptomatic of? You can build a palace but in an area where incomes are low, education is poor and people experience hopelessness, vandalism becomes a means of expression.

@stephencotton2694 Месяц назад

It wasn't thought of as a monster by the people who lived there have you asked the tenants? Robin hood gardens replaced slum housing and the first tenants overall liked the estate my family lived on estates in Tottenham and were thrilled to have a lovely new flat my mother and father have lived in there flat in a Wandsworth housing estate for 53yrs and are very happy there Mr Bevan originator of the nhs opened the estate in 1949 it was one of the first my family moved in there in 1971

@MajorCaliber 3 года назад

The glimpses of the construction site were too fleeting... was RHG built with a so-called "Large Panel System" of pre-cast elements (most probably, given the lack of wooden formwork visible), or was it Cast-In-Place (CIP) concrete, or some combination of both? Except for the unforgivable (deliberate?) neglect of the roofing membrane, which allowed rain to leak into the living spaces, this place held up very well structurally. The many recent demolition videos show that it did not break apart easily. Council Housing with so much green-space, such spacious maisonettes, and private garages, will not be seen again I'll wager.

@stephencotton2694 Месяц назад

It was a good estate lack of maintenance due to little allocation for on going maintenance and a housing policy in the 70s which was based on need alone over time destroyed the estates this estate was well planned and extremely sturdy

@piotr_jurkiewicz 3 года назад

1:52 I cracked.

@stephencotton2694 Месяц назад

Robin hood gardens failed for 2 reasons the government allocated funding for the creation of the big estates but did not allocate funding for its up keep and maintenance 2 tenancy for government housing in the early 1960s tenants were housed according to a strict criteria tenants were housed by merit and need they had to have a job that would cover there rent to have a clean criminal record no history of antisocial behavior &no untreated mental illness and 3 references the second thing they had to prove to meet the criteria was urgent need for housing in the early 1970s this all changed and people were housed entirely on need alone ,a criminal element vulnerable people with mental illness the disabled the elderly with special needs the unemployed could now find homes on the estates this along with the barest of maintenance and no concierge when you entered the buildings destroyed the estates the estates especially this one were thought out well and built very well my mother has lived on an estate in Wandsworth for 53yrs and has been very happy there I have relatives who have lived in an estate in Tottenham since they were first built they liked the estate lack of money inadequate maintenance and the changes in the screening process is what destroyed the estates

@Benzknees 5 лет назад

Architects should be forced to live in their nightmarish communal blocks and experience the results of their own BS first hand.

@stephencotton2694 Месяц назад

It's not the architects or the estates themselves it is inadequate funding for daily and on going maintenance and a poor criteria to vet future tenants the rich and middle class live in estates like this in Europe that are well maintained with a concierge and there are no complaints

@Benzknees 29 дней назад

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@@stephencotton2694 - Not the architects' fault? Well who is responsible for such brutalist concrete monstrosities, with the ridiculous 'streets in the sky' flight of fancy, without adequate sound or thermal insulation, with poor detailing on the structure & waterproofing, and a maintenance nightmare of a design. The rich & middle class would not live in such. Their tower blocks are properly designed & built, with as you say concierges & security features built in. And those architects would be living in such, and certainly not one of their brutalist creations.

@stephencotton2694 29 дней назад

@@Benzknees the construction of robbin hood gardens was structurally sound and the flats were spacious and the majority of the residents liked the streets in the sky concept these big estates were not maintained properly if the barbican wasn't maintained properly or the world's end estate in Chelsea wasn't maintained properly they would have disintegrated too look at Trellick Tower since many flats have been sold off to the middle class and the older residents came together and demanded a concierge and the council allocated proper funding for maintaining it the residents love living there my family lived on the big estates in Tottenham and wandsworth my mumand dad have been in there flat in wandsworth for 53yrs both my brother's were born there they loved the space they had and it was built well the only complaint they had was the lack of proper maintenance but since thatcher right to buy many tenants bought there flats it has become a gentrified area