Back in the 1970’s, when local councils were knocking down swathes of terraced housing and replacing them with tower blocks, a young architect worked with a group of residents in Macclesfield to fight the authorities, and to save and refurbish homes in Black Road.
Over the next decade Rod Hackney pioneered citizen-led design, and was able to count Prince Charles as an advocate of community architecture. In 1987 Rod was elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Last week Rod returned to the President’s office at the RIBA, with some of his colleagues and friends from the early days of citizen architecture, for the launch of a reprint of his 1990 book: The good, the bad, and the ugly: cities in crisis.
The current President, Stephen Hodder, was our host, and he led the way in providing some reflections on Rod’s work in this interview.
The book is published in the Routledge Revivals series, which last year republished the 1987 Community Architecture book by Nick Wates and Charles Knevitt. I reported that RIBA launch event here, with some explanation of how it chimed with my own interest as a one-time planning correspondent.
Here’s the book blurb from Routledge:
First published in 1990, this title presents the personal reflections of renowned community architect Rod Hackney, who served for many years as President of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the International Union of Architects. Educated in the Modernist tradition of architecture in Britain and Denmark, Hackney’s return to England in the 1970s changed his outlook completely. Cities like Birmingham and Sheffield had been ruined by ill-conceived planning; whole communities had been torn apart by massive destruction of Victorian terraces, and relocated to grim tower block estates. To those communities that he has rescued from the threat of redevelopment, Rod Hackney is a local hero. Determined to save Britain’s inner cities, he has been a major influence on Prince Charles and a powerful spokesman for the silent majority of the urban poor, who often have no say as to where and how they live.
… and a more personal account from Rod and his partner Tia. They formed Kansara Hackney Ltd in 2008, and it’s clear from the interview that Rod’s enthusiasm and ability to inspire is undimmed.
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