Building design campaign to save robin hood gardens
BUILDING Design magazine has launched a petition to save Robin Hood Gardens from the bulldozers.
The 1970s brutalist housing estate near Canary Wharf is threatened with demolition as part of the proposed Blackwall Reach regeneration scheme, which would incorporate shops, businesses and 3,000 new homes north of Aspen Way.
But architectural magazine Building Design is spearheading a campaign to save Alison and Peter Smithson’s controversial creation.
Editor Amanda Baillieu said: “The issue goes far beyond architecture and raises questions about exactly why vast resources are thrown at demolishing buildings simply because they are seen to belong to
the unfashionable ideology of a previous era.�
Building Design aims to present its petition to English Heritage by next Friday (March 7).
English Heritage is expected to advise Margaret Hodge, minister for culture, creative industries and tourism, on whether Robin Hood Gardens should be listed next month.
Tower Hamlets Council, which owns the estate, is keen to demolish the 214 homes as part of its joint
regeneration project with English Partnerships. It argues that bringing the estate up to a satisfactory
standard would cost at least £20million.
The council’s cabinet will view the proposed development framework for Blackwall Reach next Wednesday (March 5).
These rough plans, if approved, will be used to draw up any forthcoming planning application for the scheme.
Story by John Hill
john.hill@wharf.co.uk
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i love brutalist architecture and dont think any buildings should be demolished. what about the peole that live there who may have grown up there and are proud of their homes? if every block was a shiny lego brick this world would be very boring indeed.