Feature: World architects rally to rescue "concrete jungle" in east London

A concrete community of homes-in-the-sky in London has become a battleground for some of the world's leading architects.

They have backed a campaign to halt the proposed demolition of Robin Hood Gardens in the Poplar area of London's Tower Hamlets.

Built in the 1960s the estate of more than 200 homes was inspired by the "Brutalist" style of stark concrete buildings conceived by celebrated Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier.

To many residents it is a "concrete jungle," to architects it is a stunning piece of post-war modernism.

It seemed like a good idea at the time to ease Britain's housing shortage. Demolish streets of old terraced houses to make way for streets in the sky, with terraces built on top of each other.

The respected journal Building Design reported Friday a growing number of famous architects have called for Robin Hood Gardens to be spared from demolition.

The new campaign to rescue the complex, spearheaded by renowned architect Richard Rogers, has won support from a growing list that includes Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Amanda Levete, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Ted Cullinan and Zaha Hadid who has described it as her favorite building in London.

They have written to government heritage minister Tracey Crouch urging her to give official listing status to the complex to halt the demolition to make way for a new housing scheme costing almost 800 million U.S. dollars.

Husband-and-wife team, architects Peter and Alison Smithson designed. Their son Simon, now a leading architect in London has revealed he would "love to get his hands on Robin Hood Gardens."

In an interview with BDonline he said it would be easy to come up with a viable plan to save the estate since the land, near Canary Wharf, was so valuable.

He said his parents, both now dead, had been saddened by the decline in fortune suffered by the original housing scheme into which they had poured so much thought and care.

He told BDonline: "It was a difficult experience for them. When it opened it was a very difficult time for the East End (of London). The docks were closing and it was shortly before Thatcher came to power. It was a lightning rod for all the political and social problems of the time."

Norman Foster, who has made a case for "recycling" the buildings, has written to minister Crouch saying he is sympathetic to the complaints made by residents who currently live in Robin Hood Gardens. But he adds there is no reason why a full refurbishment of the vacated building could not regenerate the complex to present day standards.

"This approach would be more responsible ecologically, make better economic sense and also preserve an important modernist monument for future generations," he has told the minister.

Whether the combined weight of the 'stars' of the architecture world will win the campaign is yet to be decided. Endit