Public Housing / Tenements / Commie Blocks / Projects / Housing Estates

[El_Greco]

I love Glasgow tenements.

[Sweet Zombie Jesus]

Originally Posted by El_Greco

I love Glasgow tenements.

Unusual (yet lucky) that in Glasgow the term 'tenement' lacks the negative connotations implied by this thread title, despite the best efforts of Modernist planners.

[flotsam]

I was passing by the Ethelred Estates in Lambeth, London, one day on my bike and did a double take... couldn't believe my eyes, they had been refurbished beautifully. When I looked closer I saw lines of solar panels.
The project gallery is here
An exemplar project but I hope Lambeth don't stop there. More sustainability projects are needed urgently. The investment in people's quality of life outweighs costs and will reap benefits in the long run.

[flotsam]

Originally Posted by Blindfold

The much publicised (for all the wrong reasons) North Peckham Estate in the London Borough of Southwark. Its construction with traditional materials (ie brick) was unusual in that most large estates of the era were of the system-built concrete slab variety. It still manages to look somewhat fortress like and intimidating. Completed in 1974 and contained approx 1,700 homes most of which were large with families in mind and split over 2 or 3 floors (result: loads of kids). Almost all of these homes were accessed from a maze of walkways/landings at the 3rd level.

This video is from a short film from 1992 at a time when the estate was probably at its lowest ebb. Footage of the estate begins at the title sequence at 4:30.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUbsBXu5-g8">YouTube Link</a>

Great video. Why do areas such as Peckham and Brixton get such a bad name? Media frenzy?

[gabrielbabb]

Some "Social Interest" Housing in Mexico City

[flotsam]

Originally Posted by gabrielbabb

Some "Social Interest" Housing in Mexico

What do residents think of living in these do you know?
I knew someone from Mexico City. It's vastness is mindboggling, one of the mega cities of the world which are human phenomenons.
I believe it lies in a valley and suffers from air pollution.

[flotsam]

London's first CO-OPERATIVELY owned solar energy project using successful crowd-powered funding... WOW

[Pennypacker]

Originally Posted by Sweet Zombie Jesus

Unusual (yet lucky) that in Glasgow the term 'tenement' lacks the negative connotations implied by this thread title, despite the best efforts of Modernist planners.

That's because Glasgow Tenements aren't strictly public housing. It's just another name for an apartment building. The 'tenement' that the title is referring to is public housing, which makes it odd that this thread has been spammed with pictures of lavish Victorian homes, lovely as they are.

[SydneyCity]

That is also the case in NYC I believe. "Tenement" just means old, run down apartment building, not always public housing.

[Tubeman]

Thought I'd reinvigorate this thread with some of my photos from last weekend...

First up, the Heygate Estate in Elephant & Castle, South London... (70+ photos, sorry!)

The concept behind the construction of the estate was of a modern living environment. The neo-brutalist architectural aesthetic was one of tall, concrete blocks dwarfing smaller blocks, surrounding central communal gardens. The architect's concept was to link all areas of the estate via concrete bridges, so there was no need for residents to walk on pavements or along roads. In fact, it was even planned to build bridges to the neighbouring Aylesbury Estate, further south in Walworth.
Designed by Tim Tinker, the estate was completed in 1974.
The estate was once a popular place to live, the flats being thought light and spacious, but the estate later developed a reputation for crime, poverty and dilapidation. Residents complained about constant noise, crime and threats of violence. The sheer scale of many of the blocks also meant there was little sense of community. By the 2000s, the estate had fallen into severe disrepair.

The estate has now been almost completely emptied pending demolition... just a couple of tenacious residents (homeowners) in the lower-rise blocks cling on in defiance. The vast high-rise blocks are all empty and boarded up with sheet steel, and the high level walkways are all blocked off.

First up a pano from the mainline station... stitching went a tiny bit skewiff, might try again with a tripod























There was a solitary shop premises open still, serving as a church



All the high level walkways are now impassable









Heygate Street aligns perfectly with St Georges Wharf Tower in the distance























































Squatters seem to be tending allotments in the midst of the decay and garffiti... A sort of fucked up Good Life

[SydneyCity]

Great work on the abandoned buildings, love stuff like that.

[flotsam]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Thought I'd reinvigorate this thread with some of my photos from last weekend...

First up, the Heygate Estate in Elephant & Castle, South London... (70+ photos, sorry!)

The estate has now been almost completely emptied pending demolition... just a couple of tenacious residents (homeowners) in the lower-rise blocks cling on in defiance. The vast high-rise blocks are all empty and boarded up with sheet steel, and the high level walkways are all blocked off.

First up a pano from the mainline station... stitching went a tiny bit skewiff, might try again with a tripod

There was a solitary shop premises open still, serving as a church

All the high level walkways are now impassable

Heygate Street aligns perfectly with St Georges Wharf Tower in the distance

Squatters seem to be tending allotments in the midst of the decay and garffiti... A sort of fucked up Good Life

Ok

[CNB30]

Gilpin court RVA

[poshbakerloo]

I kinda hope they keep the trees from Heygate. And build around them rather then planting small saplings that have to start over.

[castermaild55]

Fukushima; The People of District No. 6

[VITORIA MAN]

vitoria in north spain


here are the old ones

[VITORIA MAN]

vitoria ( north spain )

[èđđeůx]

They look very nice for public housing. Here in the U.S. I sadly wouldn't be surprised if public housing that nice was built, and turned to crap due to poor upkeep/tenant trashing in time.

[VITORIA MAN]

marocco

[alexandru.mircea]

Originally Posted by èđđeůx

They look very nice for public housing. Here in the U.S. I sadly wouldn't be surprised if public housing that nice was built, and turned to crap due to poor upkeep/tenant trashing in time.

This is by far the most common and most important issue with public housing anywhere. Even the infamous commie blocks were, at the beginning, decent looking public housing; here are a few examples from Bucharest:

Originally Posted by alexandru.mircea

(source for all of the above)



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(already posted in the socialist architecture thread)