Robin Hood Gardens

One does wonder what poison of choice the architects were on when they came up with this. Robin Hood Gardens, completed in 1972 by the architects Alison and Peter Smithson is this mammoth cement block near the Blackwall Tunnel. The 213 flat eyesore sits slap bang next to Canary Wharf. The Smithsons altered and reformed architecture in Britain through the introduction of a new architectural theory that became hailed as New Brutalism.” Robin Hood is testament to their renowned design philosophy – the “street in the sky”. This always reminds me of the huge alien spaceship from Independence Day. All is needed is for Bill Pullman to be installed as head honcho at the town hall, along with Jeff Goldblum as his deputy. In May 2009 Andy Burnham and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport turned down the request from the Twentieth Century Society to list Robin Hood, instead giving it immunity from listing for five years.