Barbican Living
How to choose the right flat
Some basic distinctions
There are 2,014 flats in the Barbican made up of over a 100 flat types. Each type was given a number by the City Corporation when the Barbican was built. If you know the flat type, you know the flat! Examples are:
'Type 19' or 'Type 58', F2C' or 'M3A' . (Sometimes an 'A' is added to show it's the basic model reversed mirror-fashion.) Flats range from one room studio flats (mainly in the north Barbican) to flats of one bedroom upwards, with larger flats mainly in the south Barbican and the towers. Beech Street - the tunnel - divides north and south. Tower flats are roughly the same. Terrace flats fall into two categories: flats off either side of a central 'spine' corridor, and flats which run front to back with stairs and lifts for each pair of flats.
Blocks in the south Barbican
The heart of the south Barbican is the lake, in front of the Arts Centre. This directly links to the Thomas More Gardens and the smaller Speed Gardens. Apart from the lakeside area of the Arts Centre, this is all shut off from the public. Most of the buildings in the south part of the Barbican are built round the lake and gardens. These are terrace blocks with flats up to the 6th floor. Round Thomas More Gardens are: Thomas More House (with Mountjoy House running south from it beside the lake), Defoe House, Lambert Jones Mews, and Seddon House (slightly set back). Gilbert House goes right across the lake on stilts. Along the lake runs Andrewes House. Round Speed Gardens there is Speed House and Brandon Mews. Willoughby House, set slightly further back, looks at Speed Gardens and the lake over Brandon Mews.
Blocks in the north Barbican
The north Barbican contains a garden square with terraces on three sides: John Trundle Court, Bunyan Court and Bryer Court. Then Ben Jonson House runs behind the Arts Centre, with Breton House running at an angle towards Golden Lane.
The towers
From east to west run three towers: Lauderdale Tower (near Barbican Tube station), Shakespeare Tower, and Cromwell Tower. This is roughly the dividing line between the south Barbican (as above) and the north Barbican which is at a slightly higher level.
