The Afterlives of Social Housing: The Adaptive Reuse of Three Modernist Estates

Abstract

This paper will explore the adaptive reuse of three social housing estates that have each undergone significant transformation in recent years. Its attempt is to situate each case within the discourse of modern architecture while linking their development to emergent global narratives of housing. The discussion begins with the Park Hill Estate, whose evolution from an iconic council housing estate to “heritage property” provokes reflection on the changing roles of the state and market in reshaping housing provision in the past two decades. The second case traces the redevelopment of Columbia Point, a 1950s public housing complex in Boston which was transformed into a mixed-use community along the principles of New Urbanism in the 1980s. The final case explores the redevelopment of the Hunghom Peninsula Estate in Hong Kong, a newly built subsidized public housing complex that was transformed into private condominiums after the 1998 Asian financial crisis. By analyzing the rationality behind each case and the critiques that emerged since their redevelopment, the paper invites critical evaluation on the ways in which modernist housing design facilitated new patterns of living in the postwar period, as well as the contested values that became inscribed in these built forms over time. Collectively, the three cases raise further questions concerning the changing relationships between the forms and norms of housing: To what extent has these transformations rendered void the presumed linkages between the social and aesthetic ideals of modern architecture? What is the emergent role of design in housing production that is no longer predicated on social provision but increasingly subject to the logics of the market? What does the growing appraisal of the estates’ architectural and “heritage” value tell us about the shifting moral claims associated with housing in the 21st century?