The Barbican Estate

Great book, looks lovely on the coffee table too

An interesting book with a brief forward and informative introductions useful to those new to the Barbican estate. The inclusion of several one page commentaries by those living and working on the estate adds a welcome personal perspective. There are numerous, reasonable quality photographs, several depicting the exterior, although however, the majority show the many and varied differing interior apartment configurations, illustrated by a great many layout plans to indicate this. Emphasis is placed on a photographic visualisation of the interior living accommodation, predominately unaccompanied by any narrative. As the author states at the forefront, this book is not an in-depth analysis or a technical account of the estate, there are alternative books already available for this. What it does provide however, is an insight to how the occupants make use of this space.

I am fascinated by the Barbican and found this book very interesting, with great photography. There are various reports and write ups but a whole lot of photos, pictures and diagrams too. It would have been nice if more had been added about the other buildings present at the Barbican like the Centre and Conservatory, but it was still a good read - is mainly about the housing estate only and features the properties, property types, floor plans and photography of interiors and exteriors of various flats there, as well as short accounts from past and present occupants. Longer write ups too about its history and development. Very interesting read. Recommend on amazon as its almost half the cost as in the shops!

An overview of the mighty Barbican estate with good photography and floor plans of every flat type. If you're looking for history and how it was designed and built, you'll need to look elsewhere. There's around fifty pages of text from residents past and present, plus a little more about the architects.In short not a lot to read.Reading that the smallest flat at the Barbican costs well over half a million today, clearly let's you know this is modern day London.A lovely gift for someone.

Great price

This is a very informative and enlightening book with good photography. A must-have book for anyone interested in the Barbican.

Great coffee table book to browse and nice vignettes. BUT, the book I received had a serious production error. Certain sections appeared twice. Is this why the book was so much cheaper than list...is it actually a returned faulty book?

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my husband and he loves it.

Met my expectations. Nice photography of both the exterior and interiors.

Die Grundrisse mit den wirklich gelungenen Innenaufnahmen sind absolut großartig. Total hilfreich um die private Seite des Barbican zu verstehen.

For me, architecture student in Brazil, who has never been to London, this beautifully produced book was a disappointment. I wished to know more about the “famous” Barbican. And Stefi Orazi hints that "much has been written about Chamberlin, Powell and Bon and the history of the Barbican" – but not in her book, which is the only one I could put my hands on. There are scarcely 15 pages with text on “how these concrete towers have become such an integral part of Britain’s architectural history”, about two dozen huge outdoor pictures (nice, but no hint of what we are looking at or from where), a few residents’ reminiscences, about 70 pages with apartments’ diagrams (ok, nice plans, but no scale), and as much as 95 (yes, ninety five!) indoor pictures. What for does one need so many pictures of beds, tables, bookshelves, corridors, stairs, windows and doors, fixtures and fittings? Is this a book on interior design? Oh yes, and 14 blanc pages. 284 pages in all, but very little information for the price I payed. I expected more. Even so, I give it 3 stars. Grudgingly.

The book is wonderful and I enjoy having it on my shelf. The only issue is that it was unfortunately damaged in transit. Several parts of the spine are damaged and torn.

Ein hervorragendes Buch über eine Architekturikone.