The case of Robin Hood Gardens

The Twentieth Century Society has put forward a new bid for the heritage listing of Robin Hood Gardens, the 1960s residential estate in Poplar, East London, designed by Alison and Peter Smithson. Whilst English Heritage considers its recommendation to the Secretary of State, this seminar will be used as a final public effort to summarise the different arguments for listed status before the decision is made regarding the future of the estate.

It is anticipated that those attending will learn about the processes of decision-making and its impacts directly from experts involved, as well as about the notion of home in post-war Britain to now, in historical and design contexts. The seminar will develop awareness of practice-led/design research methods for exploring questions around cultural politics and architectural heritage research in housing.