Which Brutalist housing estate in London was largely demolished in 2017?

The Brutalist London housing estate largely demolished from 2017 was Robin Hood Gardens.

Located in Poplar, east London, Robin Hood Gardens was designed by Alison and Peter Smithson and completed in 1972. The council estate consisted of two long concrete blocks—one ten storeys and the other seven—facing a central landscaped green. Broad access decks, promoted as “streets in the sky,” were intended to create shared circulation and opportunities for neighbourly contact.

The estate formed part of the Blackwall Reach regeneration scheme. A campaign to preserve it attracted support from architects and heritage groups, but the government declined to list the complex in 2009. Demolition of the western block began in December 2017 and was completed in 2018; the eastern block was demolished later, with the estate fully cleared in 2025.

Robin Hood Gardens is sometimes confused with Trellick Tower or the Heygate Estate, both prominent London housing landmarks. The Smithsons’ project remains partly represented through a preserved fragment acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, while its demolition continues to fuel debate about Brutalism, social housing and architectural heritage.