Crisis in concrete: the school estate shutdown and how we got here

Open City

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:

Shannon Mattern article

Panel Discussion: Women in Social: Housing & Architecture St Pancras

Islands Talks: Owen Hatherley and Marianna Janowicz

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