1. Introduction: Aesthetics of Gentrification

Robin Hood Gardens and the Brutalist Image

“…By examining the 'Brutalist image' as it manifests at RHG, this paper has been able to extend recent attention within cultural and architectural geography which concern representation 86 and the aesthetics of architecture and its redevelopment 87 . In this sense, this paper has developed discussions of how a particular architectural style (Brutalism) is (re)produced at the scale of a single housing estate through different kinds of image over time -encompassing aspects of RHG's conception and its demolition.…”

“…Images of the estate also feed into wider aesthetic politics -particularly those concerned with the aesthetics of gentrification and the concern around how images, aesthetic choices and architecture are mobilised to facilitate acts of dispossession. 92 Images of RHG therefore become key sites at which the struggles over place and identity of the estate emerge, particularly those used by the V&A which uncritically represent urban decay as artistically pleasing in the form of the ruin and normalise urban inequality, which makes it easier for developers to justify demolition. 93 By choosing to highlight these discussions, alongside the role of images in both RHG's and Brutalism's construction, this paper provides a more nuanced discussion of how different kinds of aesthetic narrative have been constructed by different artists, social media users and photographers.…”