Barbican Living
A great place to live
I love living in the Barbican. I have been here for more than 20 years and there is nowhere else in London I would rather live.
From my flat overlooking Shakespeare Tower, I can see people coming out onto their terraces for a drink and a view across London to St Pauls and onwards. People love their flats in the tower blocks. They are not marooned, they are elevated.
Most homes are in the lower terrace blocks. The entrances to the terrace blocks are mainly at podium level. One of the acts of brilliance of the architects was to put car parks at street level and to build the estate above it. As a result, once you are in the Barbican, you are almost unaware of the traffic which passes underneath. Podium level is simply ground level to you. There are walkways between some buildings and right round the estate at this level. Elevated walkways don’t have a happy history in this country. It raises images of bad Council estates. But ours are certainly not like that. They are reassuring links between buildings. They are full of variety, with trees and views. The crime rate must be among the lowest in the civilised world. Criminals don’t like places where they look out of place and feel locked in.
The Barbican is incredibly diverse. Everywhere there are plants and bushes. You can walk round the lake and disturb the ducks, or sit in secluded piers right in the water. There’s a private park next to the lake and if you want peace, you can find it there.
And the flats? I love mine. One whole wall of my flat is a window over the park. It's a glass wall which slides open onto my balcony. Sometimes, when we get an absolute deluge of rain, it's so dramatic, I stand out on my balcony and watch it for ages. All along the terrace other people are doing the same. At night I have a panorama of city lights. I can’t bear to spoil it with curtains. Everything is solid, everything was built with quality – not like all those cheap Clerkenwell conversions. I can’t hear my neighbours’ TVs. Insurance salesmen can’t get to my front door.
The Barbican was built by the City Corporation. It is sometimes referred to as the City's gift to London. They manage the estate to this day and they must be among the best and most effective landlords in England. My rubbish is collected each day. There is someone on hand to deal with any problems or needs. When I can’t find my keys after a particularly convivial evening, the car park attendants let me in to my flat. Everyone is friendly and helpful.
There are supermarkets so close you hardly need get wet when it’s raining. The Arts Centre is on our doorstep. Nearby Smithfield is now almost London’s Mecca for up-market restaurants and clubs.
It’s simply a great place to live.
