Architect and photographer Simon Kennedy’s exhibition 635×508: Heygate Abstracted opens at the Bartlett School of Architecture this Monday.
Viewing Kennedy’s gorgeously depopulated photographs — which, in the words of critic Ben Campkin, focus on “the formal qualities of the estate’s exteriors and public spaces, selecting architectural moments, abstracting views and elevations, in a process that disassociates these buildings from their contentious histories, and any sense of domestic life” — I’m oddly reminded of a recent slideshow at the New York Times, “Living with Mies”, which examines the relationship between residents and architecture in a similarly famous American housing project, Lafayette Park:
We wanted to hear how residents — especially people with long-term, intimate knowledge of living with Mies — think about this unique modernist environment and how they confront and adapt it to meet their needs. During our research, we were struck by the casual attitude that many residents have toward the architecture. Then again, Detroit has an abundance of beautiful housing options: one can live in a huge Victorian mansion, a beautiful arts and crafts house or a cavernous loft-conversion space in a former factory. Living in a townhouse built by a renowned architect isn’t as noteworthy as one might think. At the same time, such nonchalance is a mark of success: the homes are great because they work, not because they come affixed with a famous name.
To be sure, there are people who live in Lafayette Park who are architecture enthusiasts, keenly aware of Mies van der Rohe’s place in history, who were drawn here specifically because he designed these buildings. But they are a minority. Many more residents were attracted to the lush landscape, the sense of community, the gigantic windows and the convenience of living downtown.
Remembering this led me to wonder if anyone had taken a similar set of photographs at the Heygate Estate, which, unlike Lafayette Park, is slated for demolition. And, it turns out, photographer Tim Boddy had exactly this idea. His photographs of the interior of one apartment in the Heygate — apparently, approximately 40 of 1,500 units are still occupied — present at least as fascinating a contrast with Kennedy’s ghostly exteriors as the furnished interiors of the units at Lafayette do with the crisp lines of Mies’ architecture.
[As mentioned above, 635×508: Heygate Abstracted will be exhibited at the Bartlett School of Architecture from this Monday, November 15th, through November 27th. Tim Boddy’s photography was recently exhibited in a London South Bank University degree show.]
