That's really good of you to donate that stuff to the archive, too many people assume it's worthless and skip everything.
I think things get lost gradually. People move and clear out every now and again.
Some of the donations go back 30 years ago.
I have old correspondence from Solon about the Self Help Coops. Also donated a Self Help housing repairs book by a Solon architect.
Solon was originally set up as a Worker Coop. Everyone had same pay including the cleaner. There were radical architects in 70s who supported more smaller scale housing. 70s is often remembered as time of big top down projects. Councils used to have there own architects departments to produce large scale urban developments. At least they used to build Council housing.
Solon architects were influenced by people like Colin Ward ( Anarchist) and John Turner. Turner looked at Third World ( that was the name then) shanty towns. He argued for the people living in the shanty towns to be able to improve there own housing ( Self Help) rather than large State run slum clearance. The shanty towns were usually on land that was squatted. There are still arguments about this in housing sector. The Marxist Mike Davis "Planet of Slums" is highly critical of Turner.
Originally Carlton Mansions was part of a larger Coop. "Arcological Housing Coop" which comprised the Mansions as well as houses in Lilford road and Lingham street.
Also some houses on Railton Road. These were demolished after riots by Council. Its where the open space is now on Railton road. A lot of the "Self Help" works done were to replace things smashed by Council. Council used to smash up insides of properties to deter squatting.
The photo exhibition I donated contains photos of Lingham street.
Arcological was the name as the guy who started it believed industrial civilization would not survive. Out of the ruins people would re use the remains to live and house themselves. Hence "Arcology".
It has to be remembered that late 60s early 70s ideas of over population, the 70s OPEC oil price shock etc had led to new interest in Green type issues and rejection of the social norms of the 50s.
Then (late 70s) the Mansions was communal. Different flats for different purposes.
The alternative society partly came out of a rejection of post war society. Marcuse ( One Dimensional Man was a cult book) predicted the rise of an "administered society" a merging of State Communism and Capitalism. People would lose there individualism. They would become administered subjects.
So living communally and experimenting with different relationships was encouraged ( or required). From what I was told it was very much male dominated. This changed when the Mansions broke away from rest of Arcology. Feminist critique of hippy men was part of reason it split off. Mansions always from that time aimed for 50% female membership.
Was talking to someone who might record the history. All the above came up. Made me realize that as a community its history mirrored the social changes in society.
As I looked through the stuff I had saved I also found a lot architects studies of the S/L housing. Plans to make it permanent. These are now records of the now disappeared Coops.
The donation also therefore is of interest to architects and those doing urban studies of a different way of doing housing. That is now lost. I think a lot of it is still relevant.
I only knew because it was mentioned in passing at a recent consultation meeting. I did ask when this was decided as it was not consulted about. Also an older person at the meeting said that older people often prefer a smaller group of up to 30units.
