Heygate Estate- Elephant & Castle

Heygate Estate- Elephant & Castle

Introduction

Heygate Estate is a set of protective homes officer were built in South London to late 70s. A few years ago, because the interest of private initiatives to exploit the land, the City stopped investing money in buildings, bringing the Estate into a state of abandonment increased crime in the area. After signing the agreement for demolition, Thousands of people were evacuated. In the last ten years the decadent state of these buildings was ideal setting for movies and news for the press and reason for artists. It has a reputation as one of the capital's worst sinks estates, riddled by crime, poverty and dilapidated housing. Inside Out London investigates future plans to regenerate the estate.

Discussion

The entire complex consists of six residential blocks up to 12 storeys and ten low-built houses up to three storeys. The Heygate Estate is housing for 3000 people. The council for 15 years, as main owner of the estate, has been thinking about demolishing and regenerating the area. Five years ago the re-housing process of the 3000 inhabitants started, today the buildings are empty. The planned demolition is scheduled for 2013. The monolithic building blocks give the impression of a fortress that seems to distinguish itself from the rest of the city. A bridge construction is the only thing which connects the individual residential blocks together.

The huge apartment blocks give the passer one aloofness. The external perspective on the confrontational fortress only changes in the commission of the area. Only when the threshold is exceeded and people are inside the area in the immediate vicinity of the empty, they are guarded by security services. Blocks of flats produce the effect of a shelter and isolation from the hectic outside world. The Heygate Estate is a loophole in the city of London, a city where the trains have the neoliberal urban planning. However, the Heygate Estate is a fortress in the city; the temporary emptiness has the future. The building will give way to a more efficient model.

On the territory of Elephant & Castle there are concentrated nodal points of the transport infrastructure in London, so they focused on the development which could significantly improve the transport situation in the British capital. However, it needs to overcome the inertia of thinking and urban planning for the creation of elegant solutions of different spatial scales.

The central location of the Elephant & Castle in the structure of the South London is the increased interest of investors and developers to erect densely located offices and expensive housing. Searching compelling urban planning decisions is a difficult task, because it is necessary to maintain the porosity of the urban environment. Moreover, it takes into account the specifics of the working quarters that are a low standard of living and the availability of social housing. In this connection, people are curious whether it is possible to find solutions. Moreover, people are concerned if it is not rational to create a switch to less concentrated development ...