Robin Hood Gardens by Alison & Peter Smithson

This BBC documentary from 1970 entitled "The Smithsons on Housing" (produced by B.S. Johnson) follows married architects Alison & Peter Smithson throughout the planning and building phases of their seminal council estate in Poplar, East London; Robin Hood Gardens.

Completed in 1972, Robin Hood Gardens comprises two precast concrete-construction slab blocks of seven and ten stories (with an expansive green space in between), giving a total of 214 flats.

Built in an uncompromising Brutalist style, with use of 'streets in the sky', the estate experienced a rapid decline after its completion which has largely been attributed to council neglect and lack of investment, but was exacerbated by narratives against this type of architecture at the time (particularly from Oscar Newman and his 'Defensible Space' theory, Alice Coleman and Charles Jencks) and the challenging aesthetic of its Brutalist concrete construction.

The continual social and material decline of the estate culminated in a decision in 2008 by Tower Hamlets council to demolish the estate. This, however, was met with some high profile opposition, with The 20th Century Society and Richard Rogers arguing the historical significance of "the most important social housing development from the post-war era in Britain" which influenced many architects and housing estate designs.

These campaigns have ultimately failed and Robin Hood Gardens has not been granted the same level of protection (through Listed status) as other high profile Brutalist buildings of the same era. A very gradual process of decanting and demolition is now underway, as part of the 'Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project', which will see up to 1475 homes replacing the existing 214 on the estate.