ABSTRACT
Though architectural theory has long been dominated by concerns with the making and materialization of design’s objects, there is a fast-growing strand of literature that attends to the life of buildings in time and the implications of this for architectural production. This chapter aims to contribute to this literature by focusing on maintenance and repair practices which it considers as practices of care. Focusing on a series of social housing estates in London, it offers new insights into these practices as care. Drawing on research carried out over two years, it identifies an ‘ethic of care’ in estate maintenance/repair encompassing forms of attentiveness to shifting relationships between people and buildings, generosities of time and effort embodied in the workmanship of maintenance/repair managers and operatives, the deployment a wide range of technical and social competencies, a commitment to build a sense of ownership and affiliation through maintenance/repair, and the cultivation of trust and community. Through this, it reveals not only the complexities of maintenance/repair work, but also the ethical and political dimensions of maintenance/repair in the wider context of housing estate regeneration in London.
