Peter and Alison Smithson Architects, London

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Peter and Alison Smithson, England : Architecture

Peter and Alison Smithson: 20th Century British Architects Practice

post updated 16 May 2021

Peter & Alison Smithson – Practice

Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson were exponents of the New Brutalism style in 20th Century British Architecture.

Alison Smithson (1928 – 1993)
born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, northern England, UK.

Peter Smithson (1923 – 2003)
born in Stockton-On-Tees, north-east England, UK.

They met while studying architecture at Durham University, north east England, UK.

The couple married in 1949.

They initially worked for the London County Council architecture department.

They founded their architecture partnership in 1950.

Probably their most noted work is the austere Hunstanton School which appears in various books on Modern Architecture and English Architecture. However, more recently – due to the long-runnign controversy over possible demolition – their Robin Hood Gardens has become better known.

Key Projects by Peter and Alison Smithson

Featured Peter and Alison Smithson Building:

Robin Hood Gardens, Poplar, east London, UK
Robin Hood Gardens London by Peter and Alison Smithson
photo © Isabelle Lomholt
Robin Hood Gardens
Robin Hood Gardens was a residential estate in Poplar, London designed in the late 1960s by this architects practice and completed in 1972. It was built as a council housing estate with homes spread across ‘streets in the sky’: social housing characterised by broad aerial walkways in long concrete blocks, much like the Park Hill estate in Sheffield; it was informed by, and a reaction against, Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation. The estate was built by the Greater London Council, but subsequently Tower Hamlets Council became the landlord.

More architecture projects by this 20th Century British architects practice online soon

Location: London, south east England, UK

The Smithsons Architects Practice Information

Famous Modernist architect practice – known as the The Smithsons – led by Alison and Peter Smithson

London Architects

London Architectural Designs

London Architecture Designs – chronological list

London Architect – design practice listing on e-architect

London Architecture Designs – architectural selection below:

Digital Sunrise at Piccadilly Circus, centre of the UK capital city
Piccadilly Lights, London, England, artwork by David Hockney
image courtesy David Hockney
David Hockney at Piccadilly Circus
A new video work by David Hockney, one of the world’s most celebrated living artists, will be unveiled on London’s Piccadilly Lights screen on 1 May at 20:21 BST.

Colney Hatch Lane homes, Barnet, Northwest London
Design: Assael Architecture
Colney Hatch Lane homes in Barnet
image courtesy of architects
Colney Hatch Lane Housing
Assael’s design draws on the neighbouring wood and aims to marry the different land uses surrounding the site. The development will significantly boost the local ecology by providing new wildlife habitats.

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