Demolition of Robin Hood Gardens / Peter and Alison Smithson
One of the flagship projects of Alison and Peter Smithson in London housing group is Robin Hood Gardens. Before long more it will be destroyed, at least so the State Department confirmed after rejecting an appeal by the Twentieth Century Society group which sought to protect the brutalist project through a declaration of assets by value and architectural heritage. Not only Robin Hood Gardens, but the vast majority of mega-projects built postwar rooms in the light of modernism, have aged badly led the decline, abandonment and stigmatization not only of buildings but also of its residents.
The case of Robin Hood Gardens in Tower Hamlets is for the demolition of a housing of the late '60s given their high rate of environmental degradation. This, within the framework of an ambitious urban renewal project in east London, the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project. Complied with the decision of the Secretary of State, the draft will be part of the catalog Smithson building 'not deserve to be listed for lack of historical and architectural interest'.
The zoning, building broad community spaces, the release of the piano nobile, the functionality of housing, among others, are concepts coined by Modernism that promised a new society where man and machine would live together. Today, they seem to only find support for lovers of modernist architects and the faithful followers of the old school of Corbu and Gropius. Not only the critics reacted to the 60 driven by Jane Jacobs against this type of housing, but current plans for urban regeneration in 2000, have been targeted projects such as Robin Hood Gardens.
The Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project is driven by the municipality in conjunction with Tower Hamlets Español Partnerships, both own the land. The alliance seeks to build a new community, more sustainable, improving the built environment and reaching out to current residents through citizen participation processes. Within the participatory process emerged in groups for and against conservation of the building of the Smithson. So Twenthieth Century Society, after the Government decided not to list the building as a building of heritage preservation, appealed to the Secretary of State to change the decision. On May 13, the Secretariat announced the decision through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; 'The conclusion is that Robin Hood Garden was not a set of successful housing and consequently was not a good example of housing design. His design for the contrary, proved to be of limited architectural quality.
Taking as its premise the difficulties of the project to generate quality environments, there are several open questions. Should the project be protected by being a work of Smithson?, What are the criteria for defining the value of modern heritage?, Is it the architectural quality of the building or the interests behind the renovation project to be put question?. Despite the decision by authorities in England, many residents believe the building is no problem and that the atmosphere of Robin Hood Gardens is a great place to live. I wonder how our friends DOCOMOMO-Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement. It would be interesting to have expert advice on conservation. For now, those who are in London can take advantage of visiting the building before the City makes move bulldozers.
