The RIBA British Architectural Library, in conjunction with Hackney Archives and The Building Exploratory, has recently been awarded a grant for the project A Home of One’s Own: Post-War Housing in Hackney.

This is part of the second phase of the Museums Library and Archives Council 'Their Past Your Future' Programme, which receives cash from the Big Lottery Fund, and is managed and delivered by the MLA Partnership. Projects have to be geared around the idea of conflict, connecting archive and museum collections with communities. Our bid focuses on Post-War housing in London, specifically the Borough of Hackney. We were one of the few applicants to be awarded the maximum amount - £10,000!

Nationally, Hackney suffered some of the most sustained bomb damage of World War Two. Subsequently, the borough witnessed some of the most daring experiments in Post-War planning. Central government policies, professional ambitions, local initiatives and personalities combined to create a remarkably varied architecture, shaping communities and dividing opinion, then and now.

Much information, however, on this remains untapped: rich archive sources are under-used; personal narratives need to be recorded and shared; and the Post-War built environment itself is often misread and undervalued This project aims to ensure that people, archives and places are better connected.

Excitingly, we have also been asked to contribute to the Radiowaves Schools Project|. This scheme focuses on online broadcasts - podcasting - which will give the project greater impact, long term, and run in partnership with the Imperial War Museum. So you can watch the engagement of students, residents and architects online, as it develops, and comment too.

Want to find out more? Try these links:

Hackney Archives|
The Building Exploratory|
Their Past Your Future|
Radiowaves|
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council|
24 Hour Museum|

For further information on the project contact us:

Royal Institute of British Architects
66 Portland Place
London
W1B 1AD

Tel: +44 207 580 5533
Fax: +44 207 255 1541

Email: library.education@inst.riba.org|