What value in preserving a fragment of building? A sociological enquiry into the museum preservation of Robin Hood Gardens

Abstract

There continues to be much debate as to whether to preserve buildings, and this is particularly pertinent to post-war architecture, especially in the UK. This paper further explores the issue by concentrating on the acquisition of a fragment of Robin Hood Gardens by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Smithsons’ key work was deemed a failed social experiment in its listing verdict, and the acquisition of the fragment during demolition sparked controversy when exhibited at the 2018 Venice Biennale. Devoid of its context in an exhibition setting, the fragment of building questions the applicability of traditional conservation values, particularly those relating to age or architectural value. This paper aims to demonstrate the value of taking a more sociological approach to this dilemma. It uses theories of collective memory, specifically Halbwachs and Bachelard’s variations, to explore multiple interpretations of the fragment’s physicality. Three frameworks have been chosen for analysis: the changing social housing rhetoric, its listing campaign, and finally the present, a speculative section on what the current interpretations of the past indicate for the future. Through this chronological analysis it is concluded that the Estate’s physicality is reduced to a semantic contribution, representative of our current crisis of collective memory.