Park Hill is a council housing estate in Sheffield, England. Designed
by Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith and built between 1957 and 1961, the deck
access scheme, inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation and the
Smithsons' unbuilt schemes, most notably for Golden Lane in London,
was an example of 'brutalist style' viewed as revolutionary at the
time. Construction is of an exposed concrete frame with yellow, orange
and red brick curtain walling. However, as a result of weathering and
soot-staining from passing trains, few people realise this and assume
the building to be constructed entirely from concrete.
Park Hill was the site of the first large scale slum clearance in
Britain.
Although initially popular and successful, over time, the fabric of
the building has decayed somewhat and some other disadvantages of the
estate, such as poor noise insulation and easy getaway routes for
muggers, have become apparent. For many years, the council have had
difficulty finding tenants for the flats. However, the complex remains
structurally sound, unlike many of the system built blocks of the era
and was Grade II* listed in 1998 making it the largest listed building
in Europe. Sheffield City Council hoped this would attract investment
to renovate the building, but this was not initially forthcoming.
Even now, inhabitants of Sheffield are split on the matter of Park
Hill; many believe it to be a part of Sheffield's heritage, while
others consider it nothing more than an eyesore and blot on the
landscape (Wikipedia).
fedewild, mardy1, one234five, n3c4t2r, and 318 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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∃Scape 18 months ago | reply
very imposing architecture!
bunnii27@ymail.com 13 months ago | reply
What a good picture that really shows what the true meaning of urban really means. Just by looking at it you can kinda get an idea of what it would be like to live here. Really liked your narration too
Westscapes 13 months ago | reply
Excellent shot!!
iBSSR who loves comments on his images 12 months ago | reply
Awesome!