Modernism versus the Minister

It's not a good time to be a fan of modernist architecture in London. The last two years have seen a number of 1960s and 1970s buildings being demolished, notably Drapers Gardens (which I really should write a eulogy for) and Mondial House. Meanwhile, two pieces of brutalist architecture, Milton Court and Pimlico School, are facing demolition (in fact, Milton Court's already wrapped up for the process to start. 122 Leadenhall Street and 20 Fenchurch Street continue the casualty list.

I could rant about what's replacing these (invariably, tedious glass and steel boxes), but instead I'd like to concentrate on another development at risk, Robin Hood Gardens. Currently, English Heritage are considering whether or not to list the estate, which Tower Hamlets would rather redevelop. The minister responsible for acting on their recommendation, Margaret Hodge, has been reported as saying

"Decisions on listing modern architecture should be left to people who can be booted out if they get it wrong. And when some concrete monstrosity - sorry, I mean modernist masterpiece - fails to make the cut, despite having expert opinion behind it, let's find a third way: a perfect digital image of the building, inside and out, could be retained forever."

This is a horrific statement. If Hodge is prejudging applications based on opinions like that, she's in no position to be making them. Imagine the fuss if she'd said "Gothic monstrosity" and "Victorian masterpiece" - the reaction would be overwhelming. (Just look at how much attention has been paid to St Pancras as it reopens housing the Eurostar terminal.) However, as the BBC's Magazine notes today,

"In the 1960s, 'Victorian' and 'monstrosity' were two words that seemed to be inextricably linked," says architect Robert Adam.

This brings me to the second point: Hodge argues that the decision should be made be "people who can be booted out if they get it wrong". But who does she think is making that judgement? Voters? Well, perhaps that's one way to do it, but we're really talking about preserving buildings for the future here. We won't really know if Hodge and English Heritage were right or wrong for decades, perhaps even centuries. Just because she won't be able to answer to them doesn't mean she should be catering to the prejudices of today's constituency.

Finally, her "third way", a "perfect digital image", seems like a joke. I linked to photos of Mondial House above, and while I know they're far from comprehensive, and they do give a sense of the building, they can't really convey what it was like to stand between it and the Thames, to see it from London Bridge at sunset or Guy's at night. If demolition has to happen, then I'd welcome better archiving of buildings than we have (try finding an image of Euston's old ticket hall, or even the arch), but it's hardly a replacement for the building itself.

Building Design is currently running a petition to save the Gardens, but I fear what's really needed is the same cultural change that makes casually bashing modernist buildings as unacceptable as denigrating Victorian buildings is now.