Rhg project proposals

project

proposals

utopia reloaded A+P Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens

The following projects are the results of the work made by the students of Politecnico di Milano in 2013, during the interior design studio.

The aim of the projects was to demonstrate the possibility of preserve the masterpiece of English brutalism and at the same time to satisfy the requests of London admistration with a well thinked project.

In particular the projects want to demonstrate the economical, technical and cultural validity of reuse and restoration project able to respect the main characteristics of the building and to introduce the necessary updates in order to maintain it.

The key principles for the site area were the same suggested by the BD competition and should ensure: - that there is a provision of quality commercial, community and leisure facilities - additional residential development will need to provide a minimum of 35% affordable housing, together with the required levels of family housing across all tenures, in accordance with the Council’s policies.

- the provision of up to 800 new affordable homes depending on whether Robin Hood Gardens is retained or redeveloped.

- that pedestrian and cycle linkages to and from the area are improved.

In addition to these criteria the projects must relate with the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project, in particular they have to consider the new buildings, functiones, open spaces and infrastructure planned by the project for the area surrounding RHG.

utopia reloaded

A+P Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens

INTRODUCTION

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Gennaro Postiglione

_Block Up

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Paola Ceriotti - Arianna Chierici - Sara Manzoni

_Caoxity

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Alice Babini - Leonardo Bruno - Sofia Passani

_Fluiscono i fussi

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Chiara Girolami - Chiara Giussani - Viola Grassenis

_Frame

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Mariagrazia Angelo - Ylenia Alessia Ardizzone - Luca Camporeale

_MICRO as a conscious choise

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Carlo Alberto Cusinati - Martina Pini - Marco Pioventini

_Reboot Chiara Binda - Pierpaolo Gianotti - Giuseppe Giuliano - Antonino Mirabile

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INDEX

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_Re-Mapping RHG Ilgaz Kayaalp - Josefina Mendez - Stefania Monici

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_The Fortress Stefano Boccotti - Giulia Ricci - Francesca Roggero

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_Tra Tre Candelaria Mas - Bianca Oggiano - Marta Pavan

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_Tween Between Filippo Amoretti - Clara Angioletti

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_Twin Towers Federica Ambrosio - Claudia Cagliani - Serena Dolci

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_Wave Hua Guan

INTRODUCTION Gennaro Postiglione

Iimage of dimentions’ for a group. PS,1968 8 Iimage of dimentions’ for a group. PS,1968

Il tema di progetto prende spunto dal dibattito che si è acceso, non solo in Gran Bretagna, dopo la decisione presa nel 2008 di procedere alla demolizione del complesso residenziale. Una decisione che, grazie alla crisi finanziaria che ha colpito l’Europa, ad oggi non è stata ancora attuata, lasciando aperta una speranza per una loro riqualificazione.

I RHG sono uno dei pochi edifici costruiti da Alison and Peter Smithson, la coppia di architetti radicali che ha avuto una enorme influenza sulla cultura architettonica del dopoguerra non solo anglosassone. Membri fondatori del TEAM X e cofondatori, insieme a Giancarlo De Carlo, dei seminari di progettazione estivi IL-AUD, sono stati mentori di generazioni e generazioni di architetti sia attraverso la loro attività didattica sia attraverso la loro vena critica, che li ha visti autori di centinaia di articoli e saggi per più di cinquant’anni: dal dopoguerra ai primi anni del duemila. Fino cioè all’ultimo respiro.

Già nel 2008, lo stesso anno in cui il governo britannico aveva preso la decisione di demolire il complesso residenziale, l’indignazione generale suggerì alla rivista on-line Building Design, in collaborazione con la XX Century Society, l’organizzazione di un concorso per idee che dimostrasse le possibilità e le ragioni di un progetto di riqualificazione e riuso dei RHG. Purtroppo né i risultati del concorso, che pure a suo tempo avevano mobilitato molte energie nazionali, né la parallela azione giudiziaria intrapresa dalla XX Century Society che aveva impugnato la decisione di demolizione presa, hanno sortito alcun effetto sull’amministrazione di Londra che è rimasta fedele alle proprie decisioni.

A tanti anni da quella decisione, i RHG non sono stati ancora demoliti e il Laboratorio di Progettazione 1 del Politecnico di Milano intende riprendere la sfida per dimostrare l’ammissibilità progettuale tecnica ed economica, oltre che culturale, di un progetto di recupero e riuso in grado di rispettare i caratteri dell’edificio ma anche di introdurre gli indispensabili adeguamenti e le modifiche, anche strutturali, utili garantirne il mantenimento.

Gli studenti sono quindi inviati a formulare una proposta progettuale a partire dal bando redatto da “BD” nel 2008 e individuando autonomamente, con l’aiuto dei docenti, specifici target di utenti in grado di restituire una varietà di proposte.

I progetti, a fine corso, verranno messi in mostra e saranno oggetto di una valutazione da parte di un panel di critici esterni che dovranno individuare, come in un vero concorso, tre vincitori (primo, secondo e terzo qualificato): oltre all’influenza che queste decisioni avranno sulle valutazioni dei lavori, al gruppo che si collocherà al primo posto verrà consegnato un premio.

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Diagrammatic section showing reasoning behind disposition of the required accomodation Diagrammatic section showing reasoning behind disposition of the required accomodation

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Diagram of the traffic pattern and desire routes of tenantes

Diagram of the traffic pattern and desire routes of tenantes

Diagram of the traffic pattern and desire routes of tenantes

Diagram of visual connections of the people of their district Diagram of visual connections of the people of their district

Diagram of visual connections of the people of their district

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A+PS A+PS on on contruction contruction site site of of RHG, RHG, 1970 1970

Photomontage arial Prospective Photomontage-aerial Perpective

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14 Robin Hood Garden

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16 Building layout and external elevations

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Garden and South elevations Garden and South elevations

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Pencil lobbyatatends endsofoflinear linearblocks block including Pencil drawings drawing ofofliftliftlobby includingpreliminary preliminary

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Blackwall Tunnel Tunnel South South Block, Block, sixth sixth floor, floor, outside outside maisonette maisonette 96 96 of of Type Type 3 3 flat, flat, looking looking south south towards towards the the River River Thames Thames Blackwall

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Study axonometric of 3 bedroom duplex flat Study axonometric of 3 bedroom duplex flat

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Blackwall Tunnel South Block, eleventh floor,South TypeBlock, 6 up flat, upper floor, level Type 6 up flat, upper level Blackwall Tunnel eleventh Blackwall Tunnel South Block, eleventh floor, Type 6 up flat, upper level

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Blackwall Tunnel South Block, 9 floor, outside maisonette 210 of Type looking south towardssouth the River Thames Blackwall Tunnel South Block, 9 floor, outside maisonette 2104Bofflat, Type 4B flat, looking

Blackwall Tunnel South Block, 9 floor, outside maisonette 210 of Type 4B flat, looking south towards the River Thames

Pencil study drawing of acoustic wall Pencil study drawing of acoustic wall

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28 Section through Cotton Street Block with elevation elements

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Bibliography Alison&Peter Smithson. A critical Anthology Max Risselada (ed.)

Ediciones Polìgrafa, Barcellona 2011 As Found. The discovery of the ordinary C. Lichtenstein, T. Schregenberger (ed.)

Lars Muller Publichers, Zurich 2001 Architecture is not made with the brain Architectural Association, Londra 2003 Peter Smithson. Conversaciones con estudiantes C. Splelman, K. Unglaub (ed.)

GG, Barcellona 2004 Robin Hood Gardens: Re-Visions Alan Powers Twentieth Century Society, London 2010 “Robin Hood Gardens and London E14” Architectural Design vol. 42, September 1972, p. 557-73 and 590-92 Ordinariness and Light: Urban theories 1952-60 and their application in a building project 1963-70 Alison and Peter Smithson Faber & Faber, London 1970 Without Rhetoric: An Architectural Aesthetic 1955-72 Alison and Peter Smithson Latimer New Dimention, London 1973 Changing the Art of Inhabiation Alison and Peter Smithson Artemis Ltd, London 1994 DRAWINGS AND IMAGES from: A+P Smithson Archive The Smithson Family Collection © 2008

Block-Up Paola Ceriotti Arianna Chierici Sara Manzoni

_Block-up The aim of the project starts from the analysis of the context in which Allison and Peter Smithson designed the Robin Hood Gardens, and from the want to connect the dwelling system with the city. In order to give the internal garden a new public function, not only for the RHG inhabitants, we decided to remove the barrier represented by the basketball field that breaks the continuity of on the street level, and designed a decreasing square looking toward the area where the new Tower Hamlet project will rise up.

The new square and the garden itself could now become a space for new activities that can give a new role of RHG in the life of the city. With the same porpoise we placed a public botanic garden all along the front where RHG face Cotton Street, creating in this way a new fluxes channel.

Our proposal to increase the number of inhabitants is to build two volumes on the top of the two RHG buildings. The shape of the added level where the new dwellings are set traces the existing building’s shape, and it is organised around two patios for apartment, contributing to make spaces brighter.

Considering the target of inhabitants’ we thought the best way to respond to their needs is give them a flexible space than can be modified and can change in the course of time. For these reasons some additional volumes are designed to be placed on the building’s facade. They will provide to redefine the existing clusters and to give a new dwelling typology for young tenants who can have a place to work and to live.

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External prospect

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Greenhouse plan and sectiones

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Travsersal section

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New dwellings typologies_example 1

Appartament S section

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Added dwellings_example 1

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Caoxcity Alice Babini Leonardo Bruno Sofia Passani

_Caoxcity Today this area around RHG is under a strong development and this complex is one of the few low-density islands in the East of the city. The project aims to create a break with the previous use of the level zero, to have a “city ground” more dynamic, open and congested. The grafting of new polarity provides an opportunity to reactivate the area starting from the green island that separates the two buildings. The transformation of the level zero in a large public area interconnected with the city, is one of the main objectives of the project, which aims to overcome the physical and social isolation of the RHG, through an enhanced permeability within area and the introduction of collective activity that could trigger new mechanisms of action in the urban context. First and foremost, the conversion of the West Slab into an “University Universe”, where the creation of apartament typologies specially cut for young people, from micro to maxi dimension to share, in addition to increase the density of the block, diversifing times of use of the area, and the inclusion of a large library that attracts people from outside. In the East Slab, on the opposite, was intensified the “Family Houses” character by designing apartments more responsive to the needs of the present inhabitants of the RHG, leaving also the level zero free to use the space as a market, so concitare flows, the dynamics and recreate the typical chaos of London. To respond to the need to increase the density, was introduced a new building close to the complex.

From the underground square access to the library, the deformation of the ground given by the skate park, the indoor square market, we tried to generate diversity of uses, times, people, spaces in RHG. 48

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Ground floor

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New building prospect

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New building plans and section

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New library plans

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New dwellings typologies_example 1

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Fluiscono i flussi RE-MAPPING RHG Chiara Ilgaz Girolami Kayaalp Chiara Giussani Josefina Mendez Viola Grassenis Stefania Monici

_Fluiscono i flussi The main purpose of the project is to relink the Robin Hood Gardens estate to the rest of the urban context. In order to do this, we have chosen to analyze the flow of tenants and residents of surrounding neighbourhoods. This study led to the creation of two portals at the hinges of the long block and to the design of a commercial ground floor in the same building. These actions, combined with the requalification of the central garden, helped creating a center of attraction for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

To match the demands for new residences we have added two new floors for both buildings, respecting the deck typology. We have also decided to increase the volume of the apartments on the ground floor of the second block. The new residences, designed to accommodate a family of 10 people, are characterized by central patios on the ground floor and large balconies on the upper floors.

Finally, the existing apartments were combined and redesigned to be more spacious and comfortable for large families, who now live in small and inadequate spaces.

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Ground floor

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Trasversal section

Internal prospect

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New dwellings typologies_example 1 ground floor

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Added dwellings_example 1

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New dwellings typologies_example 2

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New dwellings typologies_example 3

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Frame Mariagrazia Angelo Ylenia Alessia Ardizzone Luca Camporeale

_Frame Our planning proposal for the redevelopment of the project of Alison and Peter Smithson’s Robin Hood Gardens intends to think useful adjustments and some changes to answer in an adaptive way to the current transformation which is affecting the London district of Tower Hamlet. Starting from original pictures of the Smithsons we recognized the elements which characterized their intervention which, in our opinion, represent the interpretation of the project: the gradual passage from public to private space marked by the presence of specific threshold elements, the distribution system of the buildings which clearly participates in the formal result of the project, the marked lengthwise development of the two bodies. Through some interviews to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood and a study of the planning proposals made for the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project, we understood which current issues the redevelopment of RHG is called to answer. The result of this research made it clear for us that there is a strong disproportion between the needs of many large households which inhabit RHG and the existing accommodations’ size, in most cases too small. Our planning proposal has three main aims: rethinking the size of accommodations; an adaptation of the distribution system to reach the dwelling in an easier way, through the arrangement and the re opening of the stairwells currently; a redevelopment of the whole ground floor and of the courtyard with a new position for the basketball court and new commercial services towards Cotton Street.

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Cotton Street_internela prospect

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New dwellings typologies_example 1

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Added dwellings_example 1

Trasversal section

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MICRO as a coscious choice Carlo Alberto Cusinati Martina Pini Marco Pioventini

_MICRO as a conscious choice After a phase of study on Smithson’s works we came up with the idea that there is a double approach in their design process: one focused on urban scale and the other on domestic scale, linked to their researches about inhabitants’ needs and ways of living.

Following a similar approach, the goal of our project is to find a way to act on huge scale through micro and specific actions.

On the existent buildings we decided to preserve the structural elements and we introduced architectural devices suggesting different uses of space in order to answer inhabitants’ needs and desires.

Future Tenants will redesign the spaces of their homes thanks to revolving panels and sliding partitions, The five towers we designed in the big garden between the two Smithson’s blocks deal on one hand with the minimal impact they have on the ground level and on the other hand with the creation of a new landmark that can dialogue with the new projects of Canary Wharf and Tower Hamlets.

The towers are connected by a platform roof that funnels fluxes of people and also offers a place where inhabitants can design, create and sell objects and products, as a sort of workshop-bazar.

With this project we don’t want to impose a way of living but we want to create the possibility for each inhabitants to take possession of spaces and to personalized them.

“Who are we to tell you how to live?”

Alejandro Aravena

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CITY

I N HAB ITANT

OBJECT

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a public space as an heterogeneous habitat where different people with different needs, wonts, interests and cultures can live together.

a private carpet to meditate

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Ground floor

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Private open space Public open space

Private path Public path

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PERMEABILITY

PATHS’ EVOLUTION

A BAZAR TO...

... THINK ...

... DO ...

... SHARE

ACTIVITIES

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Section

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New dwellings typologies

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Added dwellings

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Reboot Chiara Binda Pierpaolo Gianotti Giuseppe Giuliano Antonino Mirabile

_Reboot Our project is called “reboot”, that is a term borrowed from the cinematografic language that means reinvigorate a film series in order to attract new fans and stimulate incomes. We tried to reinterpret Smithson’s ideas in a modern way; we focused around three topics we considered important: nest, dynamism and layer. The concept of the nest is based on the idea that for the two english architects the green space must be interpreted like a safe space that should be located in the center part of the project. We restored this central shelter like in the original project and we improve it with the creation of another building for the university students located where the basketball area is now set. The idea of dynamism is based on the Smithson’s belief that decks could be something diffent from a simple connection corridor, it should be a place where perople can meet and live. According to this we have used a similar strategy with the stairs system, redesigning and improving the vertical connection with the addiction of social functions. The idea of layer was used for designing of the new two floors addiction on the lowrise block in order to answer to the demands for new accomodations.

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New dwellings typologies_example 1

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Sectiones

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New building_ prospect and section

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New building plan and sectiones

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Poplar street_external prospect

Trasversal section

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Re-mapping RHG Ilgaz Kayaalp Josefina Mendez Stefania Monici

_Re-mapping RHG After a critical reading of the Smithsons’ we decided that the decks, which are long, uninterrupted connecting corridors along the external elevations, don’t have a social function anymore as it had been thought by the two brutalist architects. Indeed we decided to shift the former position of the decks and move them on the internal elevations. By doing so the decks would lean on with the inner garden which would become a social catalyst. In corrispondence of the separation walls we positioned the new additional dwellings.We designed a physical connection between the RHG buildings and the new dwellings which starts from the vertical circulation points that also form, as to say, “vertical voids” which could improve visual and physical contact between different floors and increase the density of the rhg buildings by creating “breathing spaces”. The circulation is carefully studied with the aim of allowing all inhabitants to get in contact with each other, each of them to reach the house would pass through these core points where a more direct social interaction would happen. For the interior spaces instead, we took advantage of the modularity of the former structure. We designed 4 clusters in the rhg buildings an 2 in the new dwellings. For the clusters of a family with 4 people or more we designed flexible spaces wich can be personalize,either open or closed, according to the needs of the family. Finnally, for the inner garden we decided to keep the former organisation, in fact in our opinion the crucial element of the rhg complex is the hill in the middle of the garden, wich represents an utopic and idyllic form of living.

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Cotton street _ external prospect

Cotton street _ internal prospect

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New dwellings typologies_example 1

New dwellings typologies_example 2

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New stairs details

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The Fortress Stefano Boccotti Giulia Ricci Francesca Roggero

_The fortress The main idea of our project starts from this Smithson’s sentence “The theme of Robin Hood Gardens is protection.

To achieve calm centre, the pressures of external world are held off by the buildings and outworks.”.

The theme of protection is fundamental in our project, in fact we interpreted the existing building as kind of fortress, and we decided to stress it by creating a new building at the entrance of the garden, between the two exiting heads.

However our fortress should not be a way to isolate the inhabitants from the outside, but a new system able to integrate the city .

The new building doesn’t create an affective barrier , in fact at the ground level it is a permeable structure with public activities and it is preceded by a new public square which collect people and allows the interaction between the RHG internal garden and the city.

About the existing builiding our aim was to increase the number of inhabitants, improve the quality of the existing dwellings and add new typologies.

At the ground floor of the shorter building we projected some patio houses in order to give new value to external strip of land, create some private garden and create a new visual relation with the city.

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Concept

“The theme of Robin Hood Gardens is protection.

To achieve calm centre, the pressures of external world are held off by the buildings and outworks.�

The charged void: urbanism, A+P Smithson. - New York: The Monacelli press, 2005.

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Poplar street_ external prospect

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New dwellings typologyes_example 2

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Tra Tre Candelaria Mas Bianca Oggiano Marta Pavan

_Tra tre The main objective of our project is to give a new life and identity to the big central garden by the construction of tree new volumes connected to each other and raised from the land with a system of piloties. We also decided to create a strong relation between the buildings and the city, especially on the side of Cotton street. We completely redisigned the groung floor of the building facing Cotton street creating a new space for market taht connect RHG garden and the city and allows the creation of new fluxes of people and objects. In the existing volumes we tried to maintain a much as possible the original structure of the buildings and their material and stylistic identity. What we tried to do is to give new value and attractiveness to the decks as social places by adding new common areas along them and designing a system of plants and flowers that literally invade all these shared space. The same principle is used to give more value to the internal fronts that will be characterized by a system of greenhouse located in to the existing balconies. In this way the colours ahd the fragrance of plans, flowers and food sold in the new market and the chat of people having fun on decks or snooping at the market will redisigned the RHG atmosphere, giving to it new life.

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Greetings from Robin Hood Gardens 155

Concept

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Ground floor

GREETINGS FROM

ROBIN HOOD GARDENS

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Poplar street_external prospect

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Tween Between Filippo Amoretti Clara Angioletti

_Tween Between Tween between is not an attempt to act in this site, but it aims to interact with the city. It manages the relationship between architects, architecture and the city; trying to tell the story of its history, it is writing the proposals of the future of this place, which is strictly linked with the past and the current situation. The streets in the air and the dwellings in simplex and duplex solution have been readapted: the space needs to follow the time and the inhabitants guard the legs of the route. The intervention on the RHG are kind and soft, cause it involves the interiors and the vertical connections, with functional and emotional goals. The number of elevators has been increased and the dwellings have been resized satisfing today’s request of huge families and single inhabitants. The RHG are facing with a new building, updating both the tecnological and functional aspects, by keeping up the formal items, which are the signature of the english brutalist architects. The “tween”, although speaks the same language suggested by A+PS behaving as an organic being, it is the prosaic shape of a poem which has been paraphrased. It faces with both the buildings bending in the right side, as if it is walking toward the city. The limits of the area are deleted, at least at the ground floor, which is the public one: a new library and a cult room define the new boundary of the area, staking out the area inolving both the inhabitants and the people of the district. The project continues the previous one but it doesn’t pretend to be the same; it stressed the differences in the details and in the materials; different devices cooperating, like an old man who teach his nephew: they are walking together in the same direction.

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Sectiones and prospects

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Twin Towers Federica Amborosio Claudia Cagliani Serena Dolci

_Twin towers The main ideas of our project come from our first impressions of the RHG. When we first saw it from the we had the impression that the two buildings were two towers, just coming closer we started to perceive their length. For this reason we decided to stress this impression transforming the head of the buildings in two real tower, creating a new strong landmark able to interact also with the developing landscapes of canary wharf. The two towers have different height and house both residential and common functions. Another important thing that we immediately saw looking at RHG is the rhythm created by the mullions on the facades and so we decided to maintain it also in the new volumes but using a different constructive system to differentiate it from the existing buildings. About the RHG we decided to maintain the existing decks and to improve their social function by adding new public spaces connected with the decks. In this way we create kind of decks enlargement for common activities and social activities which also create a new visual connection between the city and the garden. We also redesigned the existing dwellings in order to improve their quality and to create new typologies like small two-room flat for couple and big flat for 6 or 8 persons.

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Robin hood lane_ internal prospect

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Poplar street_ prospect

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New dwellings typologies_ example 1

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Wave Hua Guan

_Wave WAVE, moving energy.

My project is inspired by the dynamism. I expressed my ideas, which are full of energy and I tried to make them visible in this project.

Concepts that I used extensively: creating open accesses to obtain a sort of porosity effect and permeability through the borders adding facilities to attract more people and make things happen in this high density and living area, which will become more and more comfortable I raised the soil level by the road, thus adding some services (retail shops, restaurants, ‌) and I also added ramps with different slopes. To give full accessibility for disabled people, there is a 8% slope, almost flat.

The students library and the gym are located in the new buildings.

As far as the typology of buildings is concerned, existent buildings are suitable for large families, while the new buildings are designed for small and young families, even singles. This small- medium flat (studio or one bedroom type) are made for short renting periods, too, creating a kind of dynamism in the area due to this continuous flow of new people. In new buildings, duplex flats are divided into living and sleeping floor.

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Trasversal section

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Robin hood Lane_external prospect

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New dwellings typologies_ example 1

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“Things need to be ordinary and heroic at the same time�

A+PS

Credits Politecnico di Milano FacoltĂ di Architettura Scuola di Architettura e SocietĂ A.a. 2012-2013 Laboratorio di Progettazione degli Interni I prof. Gennaro Postiglione arch. Francesco Claudio Dolce arch. Enrico Attilio Scaramellini Editors Martina Pini Marco Pioventini