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The Barbican

(arslan.io)
723 points farslan | 3 comments | 12 May 25 15:28 UTC | HN request time: 0.572s | source
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frereubu ◴[12 May 25 20:21 UTC] No.43967068[source]▶
The apartments are lovely, but the service charges are eye-watering, ranging from around £6,000 per year for a two-bedroom, to £14,400 for the more expensive ones:

https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/thomas-more-house-ii

https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/Lauderdale-Tower-II

https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/willoughby-house

https://themodernhouse.com/sales-list/ben-jonson-house-iii

And all are sold on that weird UK feudal relic, leaseholds, so you're just buying for a certain number of years - a couple of the ones above only have ~80 years remaining.

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devnullbrain ◴[12 May 25 22:27 UTC] No.43968038[source]▶
The inaccesibility for mere mortals ruins any claim it has to being a representative of brutalism, IMO. Of course it looks nice, it was made by the City of London at eyewatering cost with absurd levels of craftmanship. The movement wouldn't have such a bad image if other buildings had that kind of budget for upkeep and gardening. But they don't: they're rotten and barren.
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1. eru ◴[13 May 25 06:45 UTC] No.43970171[source]▶
It doesn't actually look nice in person, and the craftsmanship ain't anything to write home about. (However I can believe the claims of eyewatering cost.)

The shoddy windows are particularly easy to spot, even in the pictures in the article. I'm not even sure these would be legal in Germany.

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2. pjc50 ◴[13 May 25 08:46 UTC] No.43970868[source]▶
Hmm, I can't make out the windows. I did used to know someone who lived in City of London flats with single glazing on the thirteenth floor. Nice view but you could feel the heat leaking out and the wind battering them if the weather got up. UK is desperately unserious about windows.
3. fennecfoxy ◴[13 May 25 09:05 UTC] No.43970975[source]▶
You're being downvoted for calling the Barbican a rotting piece of shit that's slowly falling apart.

I think it's a cool building for sure, but like many buildings in the UK (including people's houses) it isn't well taken care of and you can see how grotty the surfaces are on the facade, how things need to be repaired & fixed.

I'm looking to buy a house here and walking down streets of so many areas it's just crazy how people don't take pride in water blasting their driveway or the facade of their house, even things like fixing broken/cracked windows.

And then stupid fucking trends like extending your house with an open conservatory and treating it like another normal room...a single layer of brick in a country that gets cold & wet in Winter! What the hell!