0:00:02 > 0:00:07BBC Four Collections - archive programmes chosen by experts.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09For this collection, Janet Street-Porter
0:00:09 > 0:00:12has selected programmes about post-war architecture.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15More programmes on this theme and other BBC Four Collections
0:00:15 > 0:00:17are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Throughout the Industrial Revolution,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43people have tried to escape from the slums,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and architects have dreamt of cities in the sky,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52cities and towers amongst green landscapes.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56What we see here, on the edge of Richmond Park,
0:00:56 > 0:01:02is probably the most exciting statement of that utopian ideal.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07People can see, from their buildings, this park,
0:01:07 > 0:01:13and, as we look at it, so we can imagine, not only cities of today,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15but cities of the Renaissance,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20the San Gimignanos, the idea of a new world.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The Alton Estate is one of the best examples of public housing
0:01:41 > 0:01:42anywhere in the world.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50It stands next to Roehampton village with its pubs and churches,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55but it's got a neighbourhood feeling all of its own.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58There are shops, schools, libraries and sports clubs.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's a thriving community.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08It was built in the '50s by the London County Council,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11as an early example of mixed development.
0:02:11 > 0:02:17On the same site, there are terraced houses, tower blocks, maisonettes,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19and old people's homes.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24Different sorts of housing to suit different people's needs.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Alton was designed by a group of young architects
0:02:32 > 0:02:35working for the council under Leslie Martin,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37chief designer of the Royal Festival Hall.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44They were excited by new ideas being tried out in Europe,
0:02:44 > 0:02:49and believed in the social importance of architecture.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51They wanted Alton to be a modern utopia.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Its fame spread from Baghdad to Belgrade,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and people came from all over the world to see it.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11The site is magnificent.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It used to be occupied by several Georgian mansions
0:03:14 > 0:03:16set in landscaped gardens.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19The council architects were just as imaginative
0:03:19 > 0:03:22when they designed the new estate.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26This is a great view of these white towers
0:03:26 > 0:03:30marching across the soft green landscape.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33It's a very English view of landscape.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Capability Brown worked here before and you can see this tradition.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42And against that are much more cubistic, much more stark buildings
0:03:42 > 0:03:45which float above the landscape,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49but yet, at the same time, mark the sky
0:03:49 > 0:03:51with their crisp whiteness.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03BLACKBIRD SINGS
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Alton was built in two main phases by rival teams from the LCC,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12as if a theoretical debate was being argued out in practice.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17The east side shows the influence of Scandinavian architecture.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21The buildings are modern but they are made of traditional materials.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Both the towers and the maisonettes are clad in brick.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29There are trees everywhere, and the overall effect is very natural.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32It's what I'd call a soft approach.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35The towers are 11 storeys high,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38but they retain the feel of an English house,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40just built upwards.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Alton West is quite different.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50The architecture feels Mediterranean,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53presided over by Le Corbusier.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57The buildings are arranged in more formal patterns.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01There's a tremendous feeling of space.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04The blocks are like a stripped-down version of a Palladian house,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07precise, geometrical, beautifully detailed,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11their balconies etched into the walls.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18They have weathered remarkably well, and look as good today
0:05:18 > 0:05:23as when the estate won an architectural award in 1959.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33These great slab blocks
0:05:33 > 0:05:37are probably the most distinctive feature of this estate,
0:05:37 > 0:05:42floating over the ground, like ships in the air.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47The columns allow the green space to float through.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50And the houses, these two-storey houses,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54are plugged into the concrete framework,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57like a traditional house,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01two storeys, bedrooms upstairs, living room downstairs, terraced.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Facing south, they get maximum light,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and, of course, the great view.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The idea is Mediterranean,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15and comes specifically from Le Corbusier's Marseilles block.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20He dreamt of a vertical world surrounded by trees,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25with buildings stacked up within a steel or concrete frame,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30letting in the maximum light, giving people maximum views,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32and creating a really healthy new world.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Today, there's almost a vendetta against high buildings
0:06:47 > 0:06:51which ignores the fact that many people enjoy living high up.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Inside, the flats are airy and beautifully light.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01They may not be large, but they're a fine example of low-cost housing.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08For too long, council housing has been a dirty word.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12People forget there are as many good estates as there are bad ones.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20Alton is living proof that you can create a totally modern environment
0:07:20 > 0:07:23and keep a strong sense of community.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Eve, what do you feel about the architecture and the landscape?
0:07:27 > 0:07:29I think it's exceptional.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32They've not bunched it all together,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36they've left us this lovely area where we hold an annual festival,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38and there's space everywhere.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42You're not condensed. It's lovely.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47There's so little being built now, and so many homeless.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Hardly any general stock being built at all.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54The figure's on one hand, the amount of houses or flats being built.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57They should do it like this.
0:07:57 > 0:08:03They're all individual types, not one lot of concrete jungle.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07You have your own units, and that's different.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09No other estate is like this.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Alton has a strong tenants' association,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and I'm convinced this is an important factor in its success.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23People need control in the running of their estates.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Today, we're facing a severe housing shortage.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30In the past, governments from both parties
0:08:30 > 0:08:34were involved in massive construction programmes
0:08:34 > 0:08:38reaching up to 300,000 units per year.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Today, we'll be lucky to reach 6,000 units.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44It's a disgrace.
0:08:44 > 0:08:50Nowadays, there's a lack of vision and concern about public housing.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55We only remember the mistakes, and not our successes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Alton is proof of what is possible.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01We should be proud of this great estate.