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The Barbican

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Re: The Barbican

#161

Post by aziaziazi »

yardie wrote: post #160
smusamashah wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a total noob about the cars or buying flats or the location you are from, my first though was that why didn't you get it fixed and drive it away. But you won't have the papers then. Do the scrap yards not accept it for the same reason?

It's very, very expensive to bring something back to operational after decades of neglect. Spend thousands of euros on a car worth at most 1000€ Also, we already have a car. Why would I want someone else's scraps?

Another card noon here, especially in urban motor driving so please excuse my ignorance. In that desperate situation isn’t it cheaper to call a friend to seat on the car and handle the steering wheel while you attach the car to yours with those rods, then pull it to a metal scrapper shop that buy metal by the weight? Without plate, isn’t that car basically a non car but a pile of metal?

Re: The Barbican

#162

Post by simgt »

Never Too Small has an episode on a renovated flat in the Barbican: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2L0uML715dE

I personally love the brutalist and gigantic architecture of this time. Jam pack the flats, leave space for nature and public areas around it. Fairly standard in developed Asia, rare outside of ghettos in the West. Every time I discuss it with others, it's a hard sell against the "bbq with your neighbors in your back garden" so many aspire to by moving in suburbian houses.

Re: The Barbican

#163

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: The Barbican

#164

Post by eszed »

xixixao wrote: post #119
eszed wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I agree the interior is nicer than the exterior. But it’s still dreary, in person, on a cloudy day. This style looks good in drawings, well lit and edited photos, but I think it’s a false/failed direction in living reality (specifically the facade, the building shape, “tunnels” etc).

> dreary, in person, on a cloudy day

I mean, what isn't? :-)

The tunnels are kinda ick, and there are other bits I don't like, also. There's a walkway I've ended up on a time or two that's just bare and windswept, and badly needs... Something to break it up.

Still, though: I think I'd be pretty happy living there (even if it mightn't be my top choice). The (both design and amenity) positives outweigh the negatives, which I cannot say about many, many other parts of London. Do you disagree with that?

Re: The Barbican

#165

Post by iamacyborg »

DrakeDeaton wrote: post #70

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…

You don’t need maze-like entrances to make places quieter, people’s laziness will do the work for you.

I lived for a while on Bedford Avenue between the British Museum and TCR and it was dead quiet, despite the location.

Re: The Barbican

#166

Post by Animats »

I've been there for two convention-type meetings, on completely different subjects but in the same space. I kept feeling I was in the private space of residents while trying to find a meeting room.

Never got up high enough to see the greenhouse.

Re: The Barbican

#168

Post by tshanmu »

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…

nice analogy comparing it to BBC Radio 3- if you/someone knows which neighbourhood would be like BBC Radio 4? I find R3 too high brow for me - Radio 4 seems more accessible :)

Re: The Barbican

#169

Post by eru »

frereubu wrote: post #85

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…

If you don't already own a flat in the Barbican, but plan to move there, than the service charges and the leasehold are immaterial to you.

If they lowered the service charges tomorrow, that would just mean that the headline market price of the apartments would go up to compensate.

If they moved from leasehold to freehold tomorrow, you would also see that reflected in the price.

Re: The Barbican

#170

Post by eru »

devnullbrain wrote: post #129
frereubu wrote: post #85

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.

It doesn't actually look nice in person, and the craftsmanship ain't anything to write home about. (However I can believe the claims of eyewatering cost.)

The shoddy windows are particularly easy to spot, even in the pictures in the article. I'm not even sure these would be legal in Germany.

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