To think the Barbican Estate in London is a masterpiece?

It's such a Marmite place, isn't it?

I'm aware I am very dramatic, but not only do I not like it, it actually gives me the creeps.
I've lived all over London but the Barbican to me, feels very un-London and has weird vibes.
I'd move out of the city rather than live there.

Looks shite. Full of rich people. Nah.

The same. They installed a communal heating system a few years ago. They’re not planning to demolish it, they intend to refurbish it shortly

The famous banana flats where residents have been running a campaign to highlight that substandard housing is a violation of their human rights? https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/banana-flats-residents-demand-their-housing-human-rights

I doubt it. Many of the better quality blocks from this era (not the large-panel-system rubbish) have been upgraded and modernised. Good examples of this are Park Hill in Sheffield, and the 'banana' flats in Edinburgh. Another good example is Grenfell Tower, although we all know how that turned out.

Ps couldn’t edit my previous post.

I know in theory it was originally owned by the City of London and rented out, but it was never a ‘proper’ council estate for those in housing need. Thats what I meant by a council estate.

Regardless it’s an eyesore imho. I used to work as a community mental health nurse for city and Hackney, I did visit clients there a couple of times, it didn’t change my opinion!

I think it’s horrendous. I hate brutalist concrete. If it was a council estate it would likely be demolished by now!

Actually the traffic noise is minimal in the inwards blocks, I have stayed there a number of time and its eerily quiet for central London!

Noooooo!
It may seem trendy but:
Middle of city so will have traffic noise and pollution.
Views awful to my eyes, brutal communist block
Green spaces are compromised
Quite narrow apartments
Shared heating system so limited control of bills/repairs/outages
Service charges are £5-7K per annum (including heating - but given these are actually quite small flats thats a lot i think)
I could do so much better either in or outside London with £1.15m!

I had to go on RightMove last night and look at huge country estates in Yorkshire for 1.5mil just to calm myself 🤣

The first time I went to the Barbican theatre, I had no idea what the place was. I thought I’d got lost because I couldn’t understand how a theatre was in this awful place. I was horrified 😂
I’m a country girl and the whole place was just so utterly depressing.

None of these links to flats are doing anything for me. I hate modern interior aswell.

My personal idea of hell

I think it's hideous and depressing. Dark, heavy, damp and ugly.
I don't understand the appeal (aside from the location) whatsoever.

Remember it being built and when it opened. And the furore it caused.

The flats, sorry now rebranded as apartments for gullible social climbers. They are a decent size.

However, the outside of the building is really ugly with no proper entrance to the building. Ugliness probably matched only by the Crescents in Hulme Manchester.

Built by John Laing Ltd and McAlpine.
Who along with Wimpey, seemed to get all public sector building contracts.

They must have been really well in with local councils and the government of the day.

Wink, wink. Drop, dop.

I absolutely love it and remember going to a party there in the 80s. It was a fabulous apartment with a wrap around balcony. Back then and in the 90s the Cuty or London during evenings and weekends but it’s a lot more vibrant these days.

I’ve taken the tour too. I adore The Barbican. I often go to the cinema with my daughters there.

I agree!

It looks awful, and the house mentioned by a previous poster is hideously ugly!

I love it.

@zymbole if you like Brutalist architecture, watch the ITV series Betrayal, I think the location team found a few absolute gems to set the action in.

No didn’t say it had to be, just for me it is. I couldn’t ever be convinced to live there but it’s nice that it’s someone else’s ideal

Agree it's not either/or. I live happily in a beautiful rural spot in the Cotswolds and always have done, but my DD was at GSMD in the late 90s and I used to visit her there often, and we absolutely loved the Barbican. It would still be her dream to have a flat there..

We did a tour of 'Brutalist London' a few years ago and I learned to really appreciate the unique beauty of grey concrete 😀

It’s really not either/or. I’ve happily lived in a tiny space in central London for many years, and though I’ve never lived in the Barbican, it’s gorgeous to walk around in, but I’ve also lived very happily for almost as many years in fairly remote rural places, and a stint on an island where I was the only inhabitant.

I look at those links posted and wanted to cry. Looks like the most miserable, claustrophobic, depressing, gloomy place, inside and out. I don’t know which would be worse for me, a dark winter’s day or a boiling hot one.
Rural living for me, but at least some love it so it works for them

Fascinating thread as I’d never heard of it!

Another tour-taker. It was so interesting.
I love it.
Have you seen this website

https://space-play.co.uk/collections/concrete-minis