Rowan Moore judges the return of the "huge" housing estate in the shape of the 2012 Olympics Athletes' Village in London.
Moore finds much to like and much to lament in his review, which attributes some of the project's failures to the process by which it was conceived and executed.
"This history is reflected in the fabric. Because the shopping and the housing are in separate ownerships, there is not much care given to the way they join up. As there were different owners at different times, original intentions have been imperfectly followed through. Due to the rush to complete in time for the Olympics, and because the International Olympic Committee has exacting standards for athletes' accommodation, standardised plans and prefabricated construction were used."
"But it is there, a rare example of a planned housing development that, for all its flaws, shows more thought and quality than most things comparable built in Britain in recent decades."
Read the full story: Olympic Village – review
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University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
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