Official review: “Public Housing: A London Renaissance” (The Building Centre)

The Venue. You come here for architectural exhibitions. Consistent themes: urban planning, housing needs, welfare, London.

One of the galleries almost always shows us futurist / surrealist designs that you only find in dreams.

Location. A stone’s throw away from Goodge Street Station. Exit the station and walk south along Tottenham Court Road. Look to your left until you see a crescent. The Building Centre is right behind a tree.

A four-minute walk in total.

See it: “Public Housing: A London Renaissance” (The Building Centre)

The centre also features a permanent, interactive model of London’s cityscape.

Why the Title. The showcase tells the story of how London has decided to build public housing again.


Background.  The councils have stopped its public projects (clip, grey bar) from the early 90s and have only got them restarted in the recent few years.

Clip: “Public Housing: A London Renaissance” (The Building Centre)

And as per conventions in this gallery, data are conveniently broken down onto the borough level. Which means you can do a little research here if you’re especially interested in grassroot housing supply.

This is also the story of how each of the 32 boroughs and the city respawn with more privatized mindset, including the setting up of joint ventures and SPV companies.


Time is asset: save it for better with 25-min museum tours. Or find yourself in my novel, check out the photo of the day and finish it off with a secret prize.

Tags - in_depth_tourism; museum; London_writer; London_travel; indie_writer; independent_blogger