Alison and Peter Smithson developed and built Robin Hood Gardens in Tower Hamlets, East London, in 1972. This massive social housing development was threatened with demolition in 2008, and it became a contentious conservation case. Despite significant public support for its preservation, the government declined to recognize it as a historic structure. This book delves into the project's past, arguing for its historical and architectural relevance, as well as its future role in local housing provision.
It includes contributions by architects Richard Rogers and Zaha Hadid, as well as previously released text and photography by Alison and Peter Smithson and Sandra Lousada and Ioana Marinescu. Catherine Croft, Alan Powers, Dirk van den Heuvel, Ken Baker, Simon Smithson, Amanda Baillieu, Zaha Hadid, Sir Stuart Lipton, Peter St John, Neil Jackson, Deborah Saunt, Richard Rogers, Ann Power, and Dan Cruickshank contributed to this work.