Intro
Ok, so another Brutalist housing estate awaiting fate. Mostly derelict but still partially lived in, we checked this on the internet by accident and decided to have a look a little while ago. Had some luck and ended up returning again to take a closer look.
Either love it or hate it, this architecture is pretty insane and in all honest I really enjoyed having a good look around the estate. The architecture is very unique and 100% I'd rather see these refurbished as opposed to new horribly repetitive expensive housing.
Worth a report and something very different. First time I've posted anything in Residential...
MrWhite, BoomStick, Stewie
History
This story begins in 1963 – though it stretches back further, of course, in terms of East End housing problems and the visions of politicians, planners and architects in solving them. Still, in that year, three small areas of land became available to the then London County Council for redevelopment. Alison and Peter Smithson were commissioned to draw up designs for two separate buildings with plans for further which would form ‘one big linked dwelling group’.
Two years later, the Greater London Council decided to demolish the adjacent Grosvenor Buildings – seven private tenement blocks opened in 1885, replacing slums cleared by the Metropolitan Board of Works. The council acquired 1200 tenants in need of rehousing and an additional five acres of land. The Smithsons acquired a new drawing board for their vision.
Construction began in 1968, the first flats opened in 1971 and the scheme as a whole was completed in 1972 at a cost of £1,845,585. It comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks – a ten-storey building adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel approaches and a seven-storey running, more or less in parallel, along Cotton Street. These are, visually, a fairly uncompromising example of Brutalist design.
There are 214 flats in all – 38 flats intended for old people at ground level and a mix of two- to six-bedroom maisonettes for the rest with a population of around 700 at a housing density of 142 persons per acre. The flats are spacious and well-lit.
Construction began in 1968, the first flats opened in 1971 and the scheme as a whole was completed in 1972 at a cost of £1,845,585. It comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks – a ten-storey building adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel approaches and a seven-storey running, more or less in parallel, along Cotton Street. These are, visually, a fairly uncompromising example of Brutalist design.
There are 214 flats in all – 38 flats intended for old people at ground level and a mix of two- to six-bedroom maisonettes for the rest with a population of around 700 at a housing density of 142 persons per acre. The flats are spacious and well-lit.
Tower Hamlets Council, the successor landlord to the GLC, voted for demolition in 2008 – a decision apparently supported by over 75 per cent of residents. We’ll come back to that too.Ok, so another Brutalist housing estate awaiting fate. Mostly derelict but still partially lived in, we checked this on the internet by accident and decided to have a look a little while ago. Had some luck and ended up returning again to take a closer look.
Either love it or hate it, this architecture is pretty insane and in all honest I really enjoyed having a good look around the estate. The architecture is very unique and 100% I'd rather see these refurbished as opposed to new horribly repetitive expensive housing.
Worth a report and something very different. First time I've posted anything in Residential...
MrWhite, BoomStick, Stewie
History
This story begins in 1963 – though it stretches back further, of course, in terms of East End housing problems and the visions of politicians, planners and architects in solving them. Still, in that year, three small areas of land became available to the then London County Council for redevelopment. Alison and Peter Smithson were commissioned to draw up designs for two separate buildings with plans for further which would form ‘one big linked dwelling group’.
Two years later, the Greater London Council decided to demolish the adjacent Grosvenor Buildings – seven private tenement blocks opened in 1885, replacing slums cleared by the Metropolitan Board of Works. The council acquired 1200 tenants in need of rehousing and an additional five acres of land. The Smithsons acquired a new drawing board for their vision.
Construction began in 1968, the first flats opened in 1971 and the scheme as a whole was completed in 1972 at a cost of £1,845,585. It comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks – a ten-storey building adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel approaches and a seven-storey running, more or less in parallel, along Cotton Street. These are, visually, a fairly uncompromising example of Brutalist design.
There are 214 flats in all – 38 flats intended for old people at ground level and a mix of two- to six-bedroom maisonettes for the rest with a population of around 700 at a housing density of 142 persons per acre. The flats are spacious and well-lit.
Construction began in 1968, the first flats opened in 1971 and the scheme as a whole was completed in 1972 at a cost of £1,845,585. It comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks – a ten-storey building adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel approaches and a seven-storey running, more or less in parallel, along Cotton Street. These are, visually, a fairly uncompromising example of Brutalist design.
There are 214 flats in all – 38 flats intended for old people at ground level and a mix of two- to six-bedroom maisonettes for the rest with a population of around 700 at a housing density of 142 persons per acre. The flats are spacious and well-lit.
This, it turned out, was the beginning rather than the end of the debate about the future of Robin Hood Gardens. At this point the Great and the Good of British architecture weighed in. They argued passionately that the estate should be saved.
Unfortunately that doesn't look likely, and, as you're about to see, the place isn't in the best condition.
(Thank you Municipal dreams: https://municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/robin-hood-gardens-poplar-an-exemplar-a-demonstration-of-a-more-enjoyable-way-of-living/)
Pictures
Black and white because BRUTAL
Thanks for watching
Pictures
Black and white because BRUTAL
Thanks for watching
Thanks for sharin' 
