Monday, August 16

robin hood gardens -or every brutalist structure for itself

Trailer: Robin Hood Gardens (Or Every Brutalist Structure For Itself) from Roger Low on Vimeo.

Robin Hood Gardens (in the East End of London) - a concrete eyesore or masterpiece in Brutalist architecture? The controversial housing estate, built in 1972 by Alison and Peter Smithson, is under threat of demolition by a local council keen to cash in on the sky-rocketing value of land. Opposed to the move are a powerful architecture lobby who see the building as a key moment in the development of architectural thought. Caught in the middle are the building's residents, mostly of Bengali origin, whose opinion is, unsurprisingly, absent from the debate.
To use a phrase once used to decribe the Barbican; "all the ambiance of a mugger's urinal". Flickr set from JoesephBeuysHat shows more.