Exhibition explores Lambeth’s council housing legacy

An exhibition opening next week will examine the output of Lambeth Council’s architects’ department during a period of intensive housing construction between 1965 and 1980.

Building ‘Homes for Tomorrow’: Lambeth’s Council Housing, 1965 to 1980 draws on the collections of Lambeth Archive’s, as well as research interviews with architects, residents and campaigners, to assess the impact of borough architect Edward Hollamby and his team.

The exhibition, curated by Christiane Felber of the Bartlett School of Architecture. examines council housing designed and built in Lambeth during a period identified as the last major phase of large-scale public housing construction in the UK.

This was bookended by the reorganisation of local government in 1965 and the shift towards neo-liberal policies at the end of the 1970s. Lambeth, then London’s largest inner borough, became a testing ground for new high-density housing approaches.

The exhibition uses original architects’ models, archival documents and images, alongside oral history, to set the housing schemes within their wider planning context.

On display are examples of both high-rise welfare state-funded estates and low-rise, high-density schemes that were designed to integrate closely with existing urban grain, topography and historic character.

The exhibition also explores Lambeth’s record in rehabilitating older housing, integrating community and welfare facilities, and engaging with residents through exhibitions and consultation, work overseen by Hollamby.

Among the featured schemes are Blenheim Gardens estate (1972) and the abandoned Brixton town centre project (1966). The exhibition forms part of the Lambeth Heritage Festival.

The exhibition is open from 5 to 26 September at Lambeth Archives, 16 Brixton Hill. Opening hours are Monday 1pm to 8pm, Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday 10am to 3pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.