Created to mark the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain’s celebrated Live Architecture Exhibition, this immersive installation brings to life the homes, stories and everyday experiences of the families who moved into the new Lansbury Estate in 1951. Inspired by archival photographs, original plans and the story of the Snoddy family, one of the first families to move into the estate, the room recreates a typical East End home at a time of enormous social change.

The Lansbury Estate was built as part of the Festival of Britain, a national event designed to inspire optimism and showcase a modern vision for post-war Britain. Visitors travelled from across the country to Poplar to explore the Live Architecture Exhibition, where they could walk through newly built homes and experience a new standard of housing with indoor bathrooms, fitted kitchens, green spaces, and community facilities.

As families moved into brand-new homes, many brought with them furniture, photographs, ornaments, and treasured possessions that had survived war, rationing, and years of hardship, blending the old with the new.

Visitors often tell us that the room reminds them of their grandparents’ houses. From the dark wood furniture and floral curtains to family photographs and carefully kept ornaments, the installation captures a style of home life that remains surprisingly familiar to many people today. It offers a glimpse into the pride, resilience and community spirit which shaped everyday life in Poplar during the 1950s.

The room was officially launched during our Poplar Picnic on 8 August, when local residents, families and visitors gathered to celebrate both the installation and the remarkable legacy of the Festival of Britain in Poplar. Seventy-five years on, the ideas first demonstrated on the Lansbury Estate continue to influence housing design across the UK, making this small room part of a much bigger story about how architecture can improve everyday life.

The 1951 Lansbury Estate Living Room is located in the Mike Room at Poplar Union. Do you have personal memories of the era, or are you discovering this history for the first time? We invite you to step inside and experience a chapter of Poplar’s story.