Crisis in concrete: the school estate shutdown and how we got here
The schools estate is crumbling and new revelations over the risks of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) have forced closures across the country, stoking alarm among parents and forcing the government into crisis. Remediation could cost billions of pounds and meanwhile a whole raft of under-maintained post-war buildings could now face demolition. Is decades of under-investment about to come crashing down?
To help us unpack this complex story is Dr Ruth Lang. Ruth is a lecturer in professional practice at the RCA and London School of Architecture, and lead researcher for Low Carbon Housing at Design Museum. Her PhD in Architectural History focussed on the London County Council’s schools building programme after the Second World War…
Links to articles and events mentioned in the podcast:
Panel Discussion: Women in Social: Housing & Architecture St Pancras
Islands Talks: Owen Hatherley and Marianna Janowicz
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Open City is a charity dedicated to making architecture and built heritage more open, accessible and equitable.
Providing you with essential listening, inspiring voices and built environment insights – the Open City Podcast covers news and current events as well as in depth studies of landmark buildings, and cities around the UK and world.
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The Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.
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Photo credit: Owen Hatherley portrait © Antonio Olmos
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