Vol. 33 No. 1 Special Issue, vol. I (2025): Oltre il Novecento. Teoria e prassi per il "Restauro del Moderno"
Storie e teorie / Histories and theories

Conservation and Loss in British Postwar Housing: Insights from Sheffield and London

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  • Rita Gagliardi
Rita Gagliardi
Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/rar-19017

Published 2025-12-12

Keywords

  • Council Housing,
  • Park Hill,
  • Robin Hood Gardens,
  • Brutalism

How to Cite

Gagliardi, R. (2025). Conservation and Loss in British Postwar Housing: Insights from Sheffield and London. Restauro Archeologico, 33(1 Special Issue, vol. I), 88–93. https://doi.org/10.36253/rar-19017

Copyright (c) 2025 Rita Gagliardi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Robin Hood Gardens (1972, London) and Park Hill (1957-61, Sheffield) are visionary examples of post-war British Brutalist social housing inspired by Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation. Park Hill, designed by Lynn and Smith, gained Grade II* listed status in 1998 and is undergoing restoration. Conversely, Robin Hood Gardens, by Alison and Peter Smithson, was demolished between 2017 and 2025 despite international preservation campaigns. This essay compares their divergent trajectories, highlighting how public perception, heritage policies, and socio-political contexts shaped their fate. Robin Hood Gardens’ loss and Park Hill’s revival reveal how heritage conservation today is not only technical but a political act that defines the cultural legitimacy of modernist architecture.

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