2011

TQ3281 : Barbican, Silk Street (3)

taken 13 years ago, near to City of London, The City of London, England

Barbican, Silk Street (3)
Barbican, Silk Street (3)
Ahead is the City of London School for Girls, towering above are Shakespeare and Cromwell Towers. When built the residential towers were Europe's highest. Grade II listed.
"There is nothing quite like the Barbican Estate in all British architecture", wrote Pevsner. This is attributed to its sheer scale, magnified by the use of concrete, and its segregation of traffic and pedestrians by means of elevated walkways. The estate was the second stage in the Corporation of London's plan to reverse its depopulation as a result of the war (it was built on land ravaged by bombing). The architects chosen were Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, fresh from the City's Golden Lane Estate, work commenced in 1963 and was not completed until 1981. A total of 2,100 flats were built over the 35-acre site, which also includes a school and arts centre. All in all it is an impressive scheme, but the sheer amount of concrete on display renders it less immediately likeable than, say, a Georgian terrace! Sun and blue sky certainly help. Its salubrity, however, gives the lie to the specious idea that large concrete housing estates are intrinsically crime-ridden. That might just have more to do with social issues than the choice of architectural style or building material. It is now listed, quite a feat for so much Brutalism.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Stephen Richards and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Housing, Dwellings Public buildings and spaces Educational sites other tags: Listed Building 1950s-1970s Architecture Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · London [1689] · Street [1645] · City of London [735] ·
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TQ3281, 5798 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Stephen Richards   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 19 March, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 4 September, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 3231 8173 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:31.1401N 0:5.6666W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TQ 3228 8167
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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