Robin Hood Gardens by Peter and Alison Smithson has been approved for Demolition. A real shame, it is one of those seminal but unloved works of that period it is the same age as I am. Perhaps it’s fate though was sealed because the cost of saving them would have been ’prohibitive’ . (via)
Tag Archives: smithsons
Robin Hood Gardens Video
Johnathan Glancey makes a video in the Guardian which for once is an open and honest look at whether Robin Hood Gardens is worth saving or not.
Brutalism under threat
Peter and Alison Smithson’s brutalist masterpiece Robin Hood Gardens looks set to be Demolished. But BD has launched a last minute attempt to save it. Go here to sign the online petition but you only have until march 7th to sign. I posted last summer about another brutalist masterpiece that is now demolished, they may be mostly unloved, but they are often dedicated attempts at real social housing, and they can be made to work properly if looked after, for example the Trellic tower also in London.
Update: I looked at the petition this morning to see how big it was already, and I was interested to note a few of the names already down; Hugh Pearman, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Louisa Hutton, Carme Pinós, Alain de Botton were just a few of the more notable names, interestingly they form a diverse set of viewpoints but all call for the saving of Robin Hood Gardens. I noted a few bloggers names down too.