Contemporary London is becoming increasingly reliant on façade, image and relic to sell itself. From the classic Georgian buildings occupying much of the city’s core to the brutalist structures that capture a bygone era of mass social housing, this condition spreads like a disease, turning once vital, lived-in places into static objects whose cultural value is reduced to a collection historical markers.

In the past year, this phenomenon has been made most explicit with the museumification of Robin Hood Gardens (RHG) by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). In November 2017, the museum announced it would be saving a segment of Alison and Peter Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in east London from demolition by acquiring it for their architecture collection. The acquired segment contains two maisonette flats spread over three storeys as well as its distinctive “streets in the sky”. According to Dr Christopher Turner from the museum, its presence in the museum’s collection will raise ‘important questions about the history and future of housing in Britain, and what we want from our cities.’

For much of its existence, Robin Hood Gardens was marred by controversy. As with much housing managed by local authorities (and later housing associations) across the city, poor maintenance led to serious questions raised around its suitability for residents. Despite a campaign to save it from demolition, with interventions from high profile supporters such as Zaha Hadid and Richard Rogers, the building’s fate was sealed in August 2017 and the structure started to come down in January 2018.

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