Saving St. Raphael’s Estate
The Alternative to Demolition
Architects for Social Housing is pleased to announce the publication of our report on the design alternative to the demolition of St. Raphael’s estate in Neasden, in the London Borough of Brent. The result of two years’ work with residents, the report includes ASH’s proposals for the refurbishment of the estate’s 760 existing homes, the improvement of its landscape and community facilities, as well as designs for infill housing and roof extensions that will increase the estate’s housing capacity by up to 608 new homes, half of which can be made available for social rent, all of which can be provided without demolishing a single existing home or evicting a single resident. Titled Saving St. Raphael’s Estate, the report can be downloaded as a PDF file, and will soon be available, with additional material on the social, economic and environmental consequences of demolition, as a print-on-demand book.
The report has been selected by the Built Environment Summit, hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects and Architects Declare, as evidence and research on climate change.