To think the Barbican Estate in London is a masterpiece?

We just started watching a tv series (The Agency) where the lead character (Michael Fassbender) lives in a flat on the 29th floor. Lots of interior and exterior scenes. It works well as a moody backdrop for spy dramas.

I grew up not far from there. It’s certainly impressive, but from what I’ve heard it’s very much form over function for eg the bin chutes don’t work effectively- big issue when so many people live in a tight space. And you pay massively for the privilege. I’d personally take my 1.5million elsewhere

Lots of steps.
i’ve been inside a couple of the flats. Identical to a Newham council block, except that the lifts (mostly) work and don’t smell of wee.

The Barbican is gorgeous and it would be a kind of heaven to live there.

However it was a lucky housing estate. Very very well-maintained over the decades.

If it had been less well-managed, or, if we're being honest, lived in by people who couldn't afford high service charges, it would be a hellhole.

I'm not that fond of the barbican, but it kinda reminds me of the new brunswick estate in holborn. I'd love to live there. It used to be a dump but somehow got smartened up and now looks great. And the area is really nice too.

Always hated it with a passion, it feels so creepy, it stinks, it's dark and a maze. But to each their own I guess lol

It's a stunning development, but yes, it takes some explaining understanding and appreciation! Good for you in changing your mind 👌

TY78910 · Yesterday 21:43
If you like that, you might like the Brunswick Centre!

Yes, and Trellick Tower.

Unfortunately I don’t know about the free music but the buildings are so well built and maintained that it was a great place to live. The walls are so thick you can’t hear your neighbours no matter what they do (our neighbours had a small baby and we never heard a peep). They also used to collect the rubbish daily, deliver your post to your door daily and had somewhere parcels could be left for you which was great as we were at work all day. You also had access to the private gardens.

It’s busy around the centre but not in other areas and generally quiet during the weekend which I loved yet only a 25 minute walk to Covent Garden!

Yes, I think the interior is beautiful and I love the sense of being way up high in the city. I get that the balcony itself isn't very attractive, but it could be improved with a bit of planting to soften it, and I love the angles of the building, and those views. I disagree that the shots of the estate look post-apocalyptic - I think it looks striking, green and well maintained.

I have found my tribe ! I just afore modernism.

Not sure you quite understand how it works....like any market there are different price points and qualities. Of course no one is going to pay more for less beyond the first time.

What a de 'rail' ! (Pun intended)

Why would anyone pay over the odds? That’s fucking stupid!
It doesn’t matter how much they pay anyway (a fool & their money are easily parted) there’s never been a supply in the UK that’s more than 30% of cocaine; well according to police every interception has never tested as high as that.

Imagine paying way over the odds for a 70% mix of petrol/talc/paracetamol/glucose etc… no thanks next joke.

EDT: Sorry Op but that’s a eyesore

beautiful but the price!!! yikes

The issue became that policy prioritised high rise flats and some councils, Glasgow in particular, were just throwing them up. This led to disasters, whether they were building related (Ronan Point, which collapsed like a house of cards) or design (Manchester’s Hulme Crescents, which were declared unfit for families only a few years after opening).

high rise flats aren’t inherently bad or unsuitable for families. You can go to plenty of cities where people live in them. But they need to be properly maintained and secured. It is very tempting to be cheap about it when it is public housing. If you visit New York City you will see private flats that are very similar on the outside to housing projects but cost many times more. The insides are completely different.

I don’t want to romanticise slums though. In Glasgow, up until through the 60s, you had families living in single-end tenements. That is, one room, no bath or toilet. In other cities there were houses but they were unfit. They had never been built properly and were not fixable. Back in the 1930s Orwell toured slums and wrote about them in The Road to Wigan Pier. He described houses that were literally falling to pieces.

I would quite like to retire to a nice flat in a city, but the Barbican isn’t my first choice; not keen on the location. A nice 1930s mansion block though…

@BabydogBabydoggy glad that you enjoyed living there

I can see the appeal of that closed community but then half the appeal is lost because people can just wander in? Also, some posters have mentioned that the area is really quiet at the weekend. I would consider that a massive bonus!

Lucky you! Is it true residents can go down and listen to the BBCSO rehearse in the afternoons? This is the dream, to wander down in your loungewear and slippers on a Sunday afternoon and catch a world class orchestra for free ...

If you like that, you might like the Brunswick Centre!

You eventually learn your way around but it is a warren and there were parts I didn’t know well (once ended up in a loading area for the theatre and had to backtrack quickly). I still remember a very wet evening when we were able to go from our flat to the cinema all undercover. I felt very lucky that evening and generally as it was a great place to live especially if you worked in the City as we did.

Did you need a trail of breadcrumbs to figure out getting in and out? I would 😂

Really? 👀

Photo 9 of the outside looks like the opening scene of a post-apocalyptic film to me. And the outside space is just...well.

I lived there for four years. Loved it!

Gorgeous

Concrete, and this type of building always makes me think of falling over and breaking a tooth on it. I don’t know why! Not a very comforting, homely thought is it?

No, not a masterpiece. An interesting, well recognised and pretty unique concept - yes.

I don’t find it visually pleasing but I do appreciate how unusual it is. And how brutal. Would love to live there for the location in London but not for the estate. It always feels lonely somehow.