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The Barbican

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Re: The Barbican

#101

Post by halfdaft »

Angostura wrote: post #79
oniony wrote: post #22

So strange to talk about the Barbican Centre as a curiousity and to not mention the greenhouse! I used to work around the area and would take 'short cuts' from the Barbican tube station through the Barbican Centre to the City. I got lost many, many times, would end up in dead ends, or the other side of lakes to where I wanted to be. Or stuck behind a metal gate I could not open. The place often taunts you with a view…

Don’t forget the only reason the greenhouse (conservatory) exists is to camouflage the fly-tower from the theatre stage below!

It is! - except it's to hide the fly tower from the outside. The fly tower wasn't part of the original design. The first resident theatre company to be - the Royal Shakespeare company insisted upon one so the architects but came up with the genius idea of hiding it with a conservatory. I discovered this when working in the theatre space. I went exploring the fly tower (as you do) and opened a door at the top. I assumed I'd see some dark service corridor, but instead emerged into the warm, humid, nighttime air of a huge conservatory - it was easily the most magical architectural experience I've ever had.

Re: The Barbican

#102

Post by KaiserPro »

eilzo wrote: post #42
KaiserPro wrote: post #18

RANT ALERT: The barbican is odd, mainly because its the only brutalist "council housing estate" that actually mostly worked as intended[1] If you compare the layout/style to say the haygate estate ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13092349 where attack the block was filmed) or the lesser known aylesbury estate, its more enclosed, but no less brutalist. What is different is that unlike the southwark estat…

The Barbican was never built as social housing - the intended occupants were always central London professional workers and they charged market rates.

Thats my point, because it wasn't run within the confines of the 1970+ social housing straight jacket (funding not dependent on tenants, no ability to control who was placed in there, centralised funding formula that meant you might gets loads of money one year, and none over the next ten.)

Re: The Barbican

#104

Post by dreghgh »

hnlmorg wrote: post #88
dreghgh wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go for it, which major art galleries, auditoriums and cinemas are 15 minutes from the Barbican?

Tottenham Court Rd is 10 mins by bike, 30mins to walk and less than 15 mins by tube. It’s also a route I’ve done often, hence how I know. And if you cannot find an art gallery, auditorium nor cinema in Soho then you’re doing something very wrong.

There are many cultural centers in the West End, Kensington, and boroughs outside the City, but none of them are 10 or 15 minutes from the Barbican center (hence your not being able to name a single one).

There is a theatre at Tottenham Court Road. It is over 30 minutes away from the Barbican centre by foot (but about 10 minutes by Elizabeth line).

The nearest major art gallery to TCR is not in Soho, but 15-20 minutes from Tottenham Court Road. There are two other major galleries closer to the Barbican than anywhere near Soho. Both are at least 25 minutes by foot and at least 25 minutes by tube.

There isn't an auditorium in Soho, unless you can name one? St-Martin-in-the-fields is no closer than the National portrait gallery, 20 min by foot or 15 by bus from TCR. Easily 25-30 minutes from the Barbican centre by any means of transport.

Likewise there are several repertory cinemas in Soho but none of them are 0 minutes from Tottenham Court Road.

Your claim of 15 minutes by foot was completely laughable. My claim of around 30 minutes in each case was accurate.

Re: The Barbican

#105

Post by phatfish »

oniony wrote: post #22

So strange to talk about the Barbican Centre as a curiousity and to not mention the greenhouse! I used to work around the area and would take 'short cuts' from the Barbican tube station through the Barbican Centre to the City. I got lost many, many times, would end up in dead ends, or the other side of lakes to where I wanted to be. Or stuck behind a metal gate I could not open. The place often taunts you with a view…

In the days where work events were worth attending, we had one at that conservatory. It is indeed worth a visit.

Re: The Barbican

#106

Post by zeristor »

philipwhiuk wrote: post #81
petercooper wrote: post #4

It's one of my favorite places to spend time when in London. It's comfortable, clean, quiet, aesthetically striking, easy to loaf around at, and there's high brow art in numerous forms to enjoy – it's kinda like BBC Radio 3 if it were a neighborhood. It's also five minutes from the Elizabeth Line and the parking is good which is unusual for the City. It's strikingly non-commercial - there are no chains or even conven…

> It's also five minutes from the Elizabeth Line And about 200ft. Such is the maze-like nature of the Barbican.

Actually the Barbican station has a lift that goes to the Elizabeth line at the far end.

Re: The Barbican

#107

Post by eszed »

mjamil wrote: post #98

It is utterly weird to me that so many commenters here appreciate the Barbican's aesthetics. To me, it is an ugly eyesore that's a legacy of the brutalist wave of the mid-20th century. I lived close to it (in Islington) for many months, and avoided walking through it to get to the City (where I worked).

Like - at least in my opinion - many brutalist buildings, it's ugly from the outside and gorgeous on the inside. I've explored it many times, and agree with everything in this article and in the positive comments in the thread. And... I kinda agree with you, too. What experience - interior or exterior - architects should prioritize is an interesting conundrum.

Re: The Barbican

#108

Post by ljm »

mjamil wrote: post #98

It is utterly weird to me that so many commenters here appreciate the Barbican's aesthetics. To me, it is an ugly eyesore that's a legacy of the brutalist wave of the mid-20th century. I lived close to it (in Islington) for many months, and avoided walking through it to get to the City (where I worked).

Maybe because other brutalist estates in London aren’t nearly as well kept or, uh, wealthy, than the Barbican is. And perhaps it’s uncommon to wander through such estates when you don’t live in them.

The old Robin Hood Gardens before they were demolished were quite unwelcoming, looking from the outside. You wouldn’t go anywhere near those kind of estates unless you were a resident, and you’d have a very different impression as someone who saw what it was like internally.

Re: The Barbican

#109

Post by vkazanov »

Oh... barbican...

Me and my 10 year old kid were playing quake 1 together, a map pack called Brutalism jam. Having discussed the style we went to barbican, saw the greenhouse and walked around the complex for a while.

The kid couldn't stop talking about it for months! Amazing place (also a surreal map pack).

Re: The Barbican

#110

Post by masfuerte »

Grosvenor wrote: post #67
tialaramex wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Living in the Barbican seems so very typical for a spy that it'd be like a give away. James Bond obviously doesn't live there, but I can imagine any number of John le Carré's later characters (the early novels are set before it was built) would make sense.

Don't they all live in Dolphin house? I swear Neil Burnside did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_Square
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