Get to know Brutalist architecture
Inspired by a utopian vision for post-war England, it is loved and loathed, revered and reviled, but what is Brutalism?
Historic England Awards £500k Grant for Park Hill Redevelopment
We have awarded £500,000 towards the redevelopment of Park Hill, Europe’s largest listed building and one of Sheffield’s defining landmarks.
The grant is funding essential repairs to Park Hill’s concrete structure in Phase 2 of the redevelopment of the 1960s housing estate.
Developers Urban Splash began work on Park Hill in 2007. The first phase, which we also helped to fund with a £400,000 repair grant, saw the creation of 260 new homes.
Due for completion in 2021, Phase 2 includes a further 200 homes.
The grant offer for Phase II brings our total investment in securing the future of Park Hill to £900,000.
Built between 1957 and 1961, Park Hill offered an innovative solution to the post-war housing shortage. Architects Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith wanted to replicate the community spirit of traditional terraced housing so they designed Park Hill with wide ‘streets in the sky’ where neighbours could meet. These streets could even accommodate the local milk float.
Initially, Park Hill was popular with residents and was viewed as an exemplar for social housing around the world. By the 1980s Park Hill had become dilapidated and was no longer a popular place to live.
Park Hill is a phoenix rising from the ashes. After years of decline, this housing estate is once more becoming a symbol of Sheffield’s pride, innovation and ambition. Like all good historic building redevelopments, the Park Hill project retains the spirit and the most important physical characteristics of the original building while confidently looking to the future.
John Paul Walker, Historic England
