Calling all Property Guardians! Robin Hood Gardens, an internationally recognized example of Brutalist architecture in East London, needs you!

Sitting just north of the river in Tower Hamlets, the building is considered architecturally and historically significant across the world. Featuring bold, imposing design choices typical of Brutalist architecture, the ex-social housing estate has a divisive history. If you’ve heard of Robin Hood Gardens before, it was probably in a heated debate or news article about its demolition.

This year, some of the remaining flats are being opened up to Blue Door Property Guardians. We are thrilled to become part of the closing chapter at Robin Hood Gardens and are offering Londoners a chance to become part of the story at this incredible building.

With spacious living accommodation, super light interiors and incredible balcony views across London and the Thames, the flats at Robin Hood Gardens sit conveniently in the heart of Zone 2. The DLR is right on your doorstep with transport links across the city making this location perfect for working professionals. Wake up to views of the cable cars crossing the Thames and watch the Blackwall Reach Development take shape around you. 

If you’re an aspiring architect, design enthusiast, or lover of ‘streets in the sky’, then get in touch today to hear about our live-in guardianship opportunities at Robin Hood Gardens.

The History of Robin Hood Gardens

Robin Hood Gardens has split opinions since it was completed in 1972. Designed by Alison & Peter Smithson in the 60s, the imposing residential estate is a nationally renowned work of Brutalist architecture. Built with thick concrete blocks and repetitive rectangular windows, we’ll be honest, Robin Hood Gardens is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Brutalist architecture divides opinions with its style and design methodology. Dark grey concrete provides the basis for stark geometric structures that boast the space they occupy. Although lacking in a certain aesthetic, brutalist buildings are often misunderstood. The name ‘Brutalism’ doesn’t come from brutal but from the French béton brut meaning raw concrete.

At Robin Hood Gardens, beyond the grey façade are large spaces with lots of light, designed for communal, social living in the middle of a busy city. What some people consider to be an eyesore, others admire as an extraordinary example of innovative, urban design. Robin Hood Gardens is the marmite of East London – you either love it or hate it.

The Beauty in Brutalism

Alison & Peter Smithson designed Robin Hood Gardens to be a social antidote to urban living. The Smithson’s wanted the estate to demonstrate ‘a more enjoyable way of living … a model, an exemplar, of a new mode of urban organisation’.

Characterised by forward-thinking social design, the estate is famous for its ‘streets in the sky’ – walkways designed to be big enough for socialising and interaction. Even the doorways to the flats are set in recesses, facing each other to encourage social, neighbourly interaction.

The Smithson’s included concrete noise-reducing fins on the external facades and set the building around a landscaped, grassy mound. The idea was to foster a sense of inclusion and community around a central space that would act as an escape from the busy, urban city. However, from the outside looking in, neighbours and locals felt that Robin Hood Gardens had an introverted and insular design. The social housing estate wasn’t understood by everyone, and unfortunately, it came under heavy criticism.

The Campaign to Keep Robin Hood Gardens Standing…

In 2008, The London Borough of Tower Hamlets council announced they were demolishing the site to make way for 21st-century regeneration housing projects. This sparked one of the biggest & most passionate campaigns architectural preservation has ever seen.

Led by Twentieth Century Society, Building Design, and supported by leading architects & historians globally (think Zaha Hadid and Richard Rogers). The campaign fought to give Robin Hood Gardens listed status as an integral part of architectural history. However, after 7 years of campaigning, the government intervened and gave approval for demolition, and the larger of the two blocks were torn down.

The remaining, smaller building still stands and will meet its fate when the new builds adjacent are completed. To ensure it’s preservation, the V&A museum recently acquired a three-storey section of the building as a significant example of the Brutalism movement in British architecture. 

We’ve been offered some of the other remaining flats from the smaller building for our property guardians. An amazing opportunity to bring some life and community into the estate that was built to reimagine social spaces in the centre of the city.

Big windows and bright open spaces in one of the flats at Robin Hood Gardens.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the story at Robin Hood Gardens – please get in touch today, or register your interest as a property guardian. We can’t wait to hear from you!