Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
One of the enduring myths of public housing in the UK is that it all looks the same. Which is weird because when we sent photographer Jake Lewis to document some of London’s threatened affordable homes, the photos he came back with were startlingly diverse. From red-bricked houses with porches and front gardens, to pre-fab blocks with “streets in the sky,” they’re the concrete residue of the now unfashionable idea that people should be able to afford somewhere to live. Much like the uniform glass and terracotta new-builds springing up all over, some of them probably looked better in an architect’s sketchbook than they do now, but they seem to represent a more mixed architectural heritage than people like to give them credit for.
Read more about the death of public housing in London.
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Ashington House, Bethnal Green, east London
Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, south London
Boundary Estate in Shoreditch, east London
Collingwood Hall, Bethnal Green, east London
Boundary Estate in Shoreditch, east London
Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, south London
Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, south London
Aylesbury Estate, Walworth, south London
Brayford estate, east London
Barrington Court, Gospel Oak, north London
Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
Becontree housing estate, Dagenham
Becontree housing estate, Dagenham
Becontree housing estate, Dagenham
Middlesex Street Estate, City of London
Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London
