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The Barbican

arslan.io

121–130 of 263 posts

Re: The Barbican

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn’t naming them, the problem is you shifting goal posts by saying “major”. Which could just as easily exclude the amenities at the Barbican too, given “major” is an entirely subjective term. Also I never claimed 15 minutes by foot . And given how good public transport is in London, it’s a silly argument for you to make that we can only talk about out walking somewhere. Plus even if we were just talking…

Name any art gallery which you think is a major art gallery, ie of comparable or greater size and prestige to the Barbican art gallery and is 15 minutes from the Barbican center, including by public transport? You can't, because there isn't one. You made an incorrect statement, and now you're defending it, but without providing any example at all of what you are claiming exists. So it's a little bit cheeky to claim t…

Tate Modern: 10 mins by bike

https://maps.app.goo.gl/sdW7h8zMb7qj42Nd8?g_st=ic

But if you really care about art then you aren’t going to limit yourself to “major” art galleries (again, speaking from experience here).

This whole argument is absurd. I dont understand why you find it so controversial to claim that a flat in central London would be near pretty much anything you could want. Business district or not, I stand by my statement. If it weren’t true then people wouldn’t pay the premium to live in central London.

Re: The Barbican

#122
post #3

Possibly getting some more attention now because of some scenes from Andor 2 that were shot there: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/1kb8k4u/lloyds_of_l...

The really amazing architecture of Coruscant is from the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia:

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

In particular, the Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Arts_and_Sciences#/med...

Re: The Barbican

#123

The apartments are lovely, but the service charges are eye-watering, ranging from around £6,000 per year for a two-bedroom, to £14,400 for the more expensive ones: https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/thomas-more-house-ii https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/Lauderdale-Tower-II https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/willoughby-house https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/ben-jonson-house-iii And all are sold on that…

Oh no. £14k/year. I guess I won't buy that £2.5m central London flat after all.

Re: The Barbican

#124
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).

It's definitely one of the least bad brutalist constructions. It's also quite nice if you're walking around inside it on the walkways.

It's awful if you're walking along actual roads though. I would avoid it too.

Re: The Barbican

#125
post #108
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 imp…

Heh, very strange to see someone mention this online. (I grew up in the non-Brutalist but nearby Aberfeldy Estate, and now live a few thousand miles away).

Re: The Barbican

#126

Part of the thinking behind the Barbican's somewhat hidden entrances to the estate and tts maze-like layout was that they would reduce foot traffic, and it totally worked. Not many people use the public estate high-walks as a shortcut to get across the City. This has a wonderful effect wherein you're surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the City, while being just a touch insulated from it. I lived there for the bet…

The whole city was supposed to be covered by high walks, but few are left and the plan didnt work.

Re: The Barbican

#127
The Barbican is such a striking example of an architectural utopia, built not just as housing, but as a statement about how people could live, work, and engage with culture in one integrated space.

Few others worth exploring...

Walden 7 (Spain): A labyrinthine, colorful complex by Ricardo Bofill with inner courtyards and skybridges, aiming for a more social urban life based on B.F. Skinner's Walden Two philosophy.

Arcosanti (USA): Paolo Soleri’s desert experiment in “arcology”, architecture + ecology—exploring sustainable living in a compact footprint.

Unité d'Habitation (France): Le Corbusier’s "vertical garden city" combining apartments, shops, and communal spaces into one concrete megastructure.

Habitat 67 (Canada): Modular housing units stacked like Lego, Moshe Safdie’s vision for dense yet humane urban living.

Auroville (India): Founded in the 1960s as an experimental township aiming for human unity beyond politics and religion.

Re: The Barbican

#129

The apartments are lovely, but the service charges are eye-watering, ranging from around £6,000 per year for a two-bedroom, to £14,400 for the more expensive ones: https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/thomas-more-house-ii https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/Lauderdale-Tower-II https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/willoughby-house https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/ben-jonson-house-iii And all are sold on that…

The inaccesibility for mere mortals ruins any claim it has to being a representative of brutalism, IMO. Of course it looks nice, it was made by the City of London at eyewatering cost with absurd levels of craftmanship. The movement wouldn't have such a bad image if other buildings had that kind of budget for upkeep and gardening. But they don't: they're rotten and barren.

Re: The Barbican

#130
Every detail of the Barbican is a joy. Even the skirting board where the wall meets the flooring is gently curved, making it a easy to clean.

Another fun Barbican fact is their Garchey System for waste disposal.

The wet food waste is collected communally and taken away by custom-built tanker vehicles that connect to the holding tanks. https://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-now/garchey/the-ga...

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