DissoPaperback

When Park Hill was completed in 1961 it was the future. Conceived and delivered in a completely different world to that in which we live today; over time it became a casualty of circumstance, but even accepting its flaws, few can describe it as ordinary. Much has been written about the building, but we know less about the political context in which such an enormous scheme designed by two inexperienced architects, came to command such acceptance. My dissertation focuses to some extent, on one man, Lewis Womersley; the man who skilfully managed to convince the council that Park Hill could work through a series of cunning moves culminating in an extensive tour of Europe, which he led in 1955. By recreating this tour it will enable me to understand where Park Hill originated from, but also inspired by the book Lived in Architecture by Phillipe Boudon I hope to study how these buildings have responded to time and inhabitation, and how they may once again influence the future direction of Park Hill.