Estate Regeneration : Learning from the Past, Housing Communities of the Future

One hundred years ago, the Addison Act created the circumstances for the large scale construction of municipal housing in the UK. This would lead to the most prolific phases of housing estate building the country has ever seen. The legacy of this historic period has been tackled for the last twenty-five years as these estates began to suffer from misguided allocation policies, systemic building and fabric failure and financial austerity. A series of estate regeneration programmes sought to rectify the mistakes of the past. Estate Regeneration describes 24 of these regeneration schemes from across the UK and the design philosophy and resident engagement which formed each new community. A number of essays from a wide range of industry experts amplify the learning experience from some key estate regeneration initiatives and provide observations on the broader issues of this sector of the housing market. Regeneration is inevitable; it is a matter of the form which regeneration should take. The information presented here is a guide to an intuitive approach to estate regeneration which commences with the derivation of strong urban design principles and is guided by real community engagement. The experience presented seeks to learn from the mistakes of the past to create the best possible platform for regeneration of the housing estates of the future.

Brendan Kilpatrick jointly leads PRP’s London studio. The architectural team specialises in the design and delivery of all forms of housing in the UK across both affordable and private tenures, including Build to Rent, from bespoke infill projects to large estate and urban regeneration masterplans. The studio also encompasses specialist, inter-disciplinary teams covering urban design, landscape architecture and sustainability, working collaboratively with the architectural teams and making PRP uniquely equipped to coordinate and deliver complex regeneration projects from inception to completion.

Brendan’s expertise spans all forms of housing, with an emphasis on housing-led urban and estate regeneration schemes where mixed-tenure, mixed-density residential buildings and non-housing elements need to be integrated into sustainable neighbourhoods. His team has a reputation for delivering high quality, cost-effective housing solutions which match client budgets whilst achieving the practice’s high standards of design quality.

Brendan has written a non-architectural, part-biographical novel, Elephant on Main Street, which was published in 2019.

Manisha Patel jointly leads PRP’s London studio. She spearheads regeneration encompassing urban design and masterplanning and resident and stakeholder consultation within PRP. She has led in masterplanning some of PRP’s most high profile projects including Chobham Manor, where she developed a new typology facilitating multi-generation living, a design and cultural expression of her upbringing in West London. She is currently exploring further intergenerational initiatives. She is also responsible for the masterplan on Portobello Square which won the Estate Regeneration Award / Mayor’s Award at the 2015 Housing Design Awards. Chobham Manor won the Mayor’s Prize at the 2019 NLA Awards.

Manisha is one of PRP’s most innovative thinkers. Known for her creativity and motivational leadership, her expertise in estate regeneration has led her into new initiatives in town centre regeneration and industrial intensification.

Manisha is a Mayor of London Design Advocate and provides expertise and guidance to the Mayor’s Good Growth programme, which will ensure sustainable and inclusive, high quality development in the capital. She is currently assisting Transport for London and other municipal authorities in reviewing strategic masterplans across London.