Metropolitan Workshop were commissioned by Swan Housing to review the existing 1,500 home residential-led masterplan of the 1972 Robin Hood Gardens estate.

Metropolitan Workshop were commissioned by Swan Housing to review the existing 1,500 home residential-led masterplan of the 1972 Robin Hood Gardens estate. Phase 2, recently completed, was designed by Metropolitan Workshop and Haworth Tompkins Architects as a collaborative response to the sensitive redevelopment of Robin Hood Gardens’ eastern wing. Replacing the now-demolished Brutalist structure, the scheme delivers 268 high-quality, mixedtenure homes – 50% of which are affordable – while doubling the site’s original density. The masterplan prioritises community cohesion, urban connectivity and long-term resilience.

This public sector project is GLA grant-funded and has been delivered through a joint partnership between the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Swan Housing and NU Living. The design approach generates two architecturally distinct but related pairs of buildings that share a cohesive material and massing strategy. A stepped profile reduces the impact on surrounding streets and maximises daylight, creating a visually interesting and human-scaled streetscape. Dualaspect homes and strategic building placement allow views into the Millennium Green, reinforcing connections to public space.

Each building incorporates maisonettes at ground level, with private terraces or raised entrances depending on orientation. This typology encourages family living, passive surveillance and direct engagement with the landscape. Homes along busy Cotton Street are buffered by deep planting and raised thresholds, improving privacy and acoustic comfort.

A robust and refined material palette is made up of brickwork, precast concrete and coloured glazed tiles, which ensures longevity and aesthetic quality. Construction innovations, including post-tensioned slabs and pre-fabricated façades, supported efficiency, safety and build quality.

Crucially, the scheme retains and enhances the Millennium Green, a key feature of the original estate. This public space remains open, offering play areas, food growing opportunities and a pedestrian link between stations; reinforcing its role as a social and environmental asset in the neighbourhood.