Barbican: Beyond The Brutal
2013-2023
Arguably one of the most divisive buildings in London, the Barbican Estate has polarised opinions since construction began in the mid-1960s. Whilst spending a significant period of time photographing for clients in and around the Estate, I had many conversations with locals, workers, residents and people in the general vicinity.
Having long-admired the Barbican, I wondered where the divisiveness came from. What was so wrong with brutalist architecture? Why did predominantly-concrete buildings have such a bad reputation? During those conversations, however, I realised that most negative views of the Estate came from those whose only real experience of the place was from outside the perimeter walls, or limited to delivery drivers who would pull up, drop off, and then leave.
Those who had a more favourable view of the building were people who had much more experience of using the Estate - either as a place to live, a place to work, or a convenient cut-through to the City.
Barbican: Beyond The Brutal is intended to illustrate the beauty of the building that exists beyond the thick, heavy concrete walls that are the extent to which many know about and experience the Estate. The trees and gardens, the design features, the way the setting sunlight interacts with the hammered concrete, the water features and their wildlife, the views and vistas, etc.
It is not about changing opinions. Moreover, it is about furnishing minds with more information and perhaps inspiring a desire to explore beyond those walls and discover something that you didn’t expect. Architecture and design will always be subjective. My job here with this series is to provide more evidence to support the forming of opinions. It’s about showing viewers what is beyond those walls.
