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Robin Hood Gardens is a residential estate in Poplar, London designed in the late 1960s by architects Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. It was built as a council housing estate with homes spread across 'streets in the sky': social housing characterised by broad aerial walkways in long concrete blocks, much like the Park Hill estate in Sheffield; it was informed by, and a reaction against, Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. The landlord is Tower Hamlets Council. As with many other council housing blocks in the UK, tenures have diversified somewhat and include social housing tenants, leaseholders who exercised the right to buy and subsequent private owners, and private tenants of leaseholders. The estate comprises two long curved blocks facing each other across a central green space, and in total covers . The blocks are of ten and seven storeys, built from precast concrete slabs and contain 213 flats. In the central green area is a small man-made hill. The flats themselves are a mixture of single-storey apartments and two-storey maisonettes, with wide balconies (the 'streets') on every third floor. The complex is 200m north of Blackwall DLR station, with its direct links to the City of London and separated by a bus terminus. It is within sight of the nearby Balfron Tower; both are highly visible examples of Brutalist architecture. Following the approval of a redevelopment scheme as part of a wider local regeneration project in 2012, demolition of the estate began in 2013. An earlier attempt, supported by a number of notable architects, to head off redevelopment by getting the estate listed status, was rejected by the government in 2009. ==Preservation status== A campaign was mounted in 2008 by ''Building Design'' magazine and the Twentieth Century Society to get Robin Hood Gardens listed as a historical landmark in order to save it from destruction, with support from Richard Rogers and Zaha Hadid;〔(Building Design campaign to save Robin Hood Gardens ), ''Building Design'', 21 February 2008〕〔(Don't knock brutalism ), ''Guardian'', 26 June 2008〕 the latter counts it as her favourite building in London.〔''Evening Standard'' Magazine, 18 May 2012〕 However, English Heritage did not back the proposal, with its commissioners overruling the advice of its own advisory committee.〔(English Heritage fails to back Robin Hood Gardens ), ''Building Design'', 8 May 2008〕 This was because it did not fully meet the strict criteria for listing post-war buildings, and because the building had suffered serious shortcomings from the start, as the designers had been forced to compromise on issues including the width of the access decks.〔(Robin Hood Gardens: The videos for and against ), ''Building Design'', April 2009〕 The campaign to save Robin Hood Gardens drew very little support from those who actually had to live in the building, with more than 75% of residents supporting its demolition when consulted by the local authority.〔(Row over 'street in sky' estate ), BBC, 7 March 2008〕 In May 2009 the Minister of Culture, Andy Burnham, reiterated an earlier government decision not to list the estate and also granted a Certificate of Immunity from listing, meaning that the structure could not be reconsidered for listing for at least 5 years. This ministerial decision endorsed the recommendation of English Heritage that Robin Hood Gardens "fails as a place for human beings to live" and did not deserve statutory heritage protection, leaving the way open for Tower Hamlets Council to proceed with its demolition and redevelopment.〔 A resident's own survey, published in ''Building Design'' in June 2009, found that 80% of residents wanted it refurbished.〔(New Robin Hood Gardens residents survey challenges demolition ), ''Building Design'', 26 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-27〕 In October 2009, opposition councillor Tim Archer accused the Council of ignoring maintenance problems to encourage residents to move out.〔("Council running down Robin Hood Gardens" ) ''Building Design'', 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2010-03-27〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robin Hood Gardens」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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