Robin Hood Gardens: How the V&A preserved the legacy of a brutalist gem
In 2016, Umbrella visited London’s Robin Hood Gardens, a defining example of brutalism. Now, following its demolition, the V&A has acquired one of its flats, as Matt Reynolds reveals.
You might have heard about Robin Hood Gardens.
Completed in 1972, it was designed by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson, the culmination of their research on and vision for social housing. Innovations like its noise-reducing exterior concrete fins and elevated walkways – known as ‘streets in the sky’ – fostered interaction between neighbours.
However, on our visit in 2016 we found an empty, solemn building in need of repair. Its inhabitants had left and been moved elsewhere – despite a poll that revealed 80 per cent favoured refurbishment to demolition. We suggested then that regeneration was the answer, but sadly it was too late. Robin Hood Gardens accepted its fate as an architectural ‘failure’.
The announcement of the flats’ demolition prompted one of the largest ever campaigns in architectural preservation, initiated by the Twentieth Century Society and supported by architects like Richard Rogers and Zaha Hadid as well as leading architectural historians.
Despite this, Robin Hood Gardens was refused listed status and the wrecking ball was swung in 2017. Approval was given to build a cluster of towers containing more than 1,500 new homes.
The V&A steps in
However, the story doesn’t end there. The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has now acquired a three-storey section of Robin Hood Gardens – including the exterior facade and interior of a maisonette flat – to be displayed at the Venice Architecture Biennale as an exceptional example of brutalism.
Since its beginning, the V&A has exhibited large fragments of buildings to document significant developments in architecture. Dr Neil Bingham, its curator of contemporary architectural collections, says:
“The V&A's acquisition of a section of Robin Hood Gardens will motivate new thinking and research into this highly experimental period of British architectural and urban history.”
“This is an important piece of brutalism, worth preserving for future generations. It’s also an object that will stimulate debate around architecture and urbanism today”
While Umbrella is sad to see Robin Hood Gardens join the likes of Owen Luder’s Derwent Tower, John Bancroft’s Pimlico Academy or Michael Blampied’s mighty Welbeck Street car park (demolished after Historic England decided not to list it) we’re glad the V&A has confirmed its architectural significance.
Dr Christopher Turner, keeper of the V&A's design, architecture and digital department, says:
“This is an important piece of brutalism, worth preserving for future generations. It’s also an object that will stimulate debate around architecture and urbanism today – it raises important questions about the history and future of housing in Britain, and what we want from our cities.”
While it’s more appealing to a keen-to-impress town planner or mayor to commission a new, headline-grabbing building than to revamp an old one, the upkeep of tower blocks is costly. And that’s not a problem that’s going to be solved by building new tower blocks.
The Smithsons regarded Robin Hood Gardens as “a demonstration of a more enjoyable way of living… a model, an exemplar, of a new mode of urban organisation”.
We’re not entirely sure the reality of living there lived up to these lofty ideals, but the preservation of this section should ensure the debate about how and where we want to live continues.