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Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, London, 1967-72

(Alison & Peter Smithson)

Peter Smithson on Robin Hood Gardens:

“I approach from the north, through the old houses, and I just go to the top of the mound, and I just think, I just fall into a reverie. There’s something mysterious about it. […] Underneath the mound is the whole history of this site. During the war the docks and the bridges, nearby, were the principle [sic] target, and the East End was the most damaged part of London. This mound contains the relics of that period - the debris of the bombed buildings and the concrete shelters, as well as the earlier stuff from the docks. […] When you go there, and you sit on it, in a way it’s like a tomb. The mound is a burial place of the sacredness of previous dwelling, isn’t it.”

(Interview with Tom Hanegan, published in Kenchiku Bunka, 1994)