The Barbican

Our tour of this vast masterplan of buildings focused on the external network of spaces that create the Barbican Centre and Housing Estate. Construction started in the 1970s and the buildings in British Brutalist style were designed by Architects Chamberlain, Powell and Bon. Our tour began in the housing estate where without a guide we would certainly be lost. Beautifully brick paved streets curve around the heavy concrete sky walkways to aid the visitor in their wayfinding. The guide points out the semi-circle motif that playfully appears in many moments across the Barbican complex - as windows, as vaults, as paving patterns - see if you can spot them on your next visit. Concrete is the big player at the Barbican - hidden away in a services plant room we found panels of test insitu concrete, where different finishes were explored. The final decision was for all the cast insitu concrete to be hand post-drilled to give a heavy mottled texture - its a crude finish but boy does it dazzle like glistening diamonds in the sunlight. The Barbican sits as a large chunk in the historical City of London - its towers loom over city workers, its edges sit strongly like the walls of a fortress - it is an important part of London's urban fabric and any visitor to the city should definitely lose themselves within its network.

Leighton House Museum

We visited Leighton House Museum in January 2014. This majestic building sits on a pretty residential street in leafy Kensington. The museum is the former home of the Victorian artist Lord Frederick Leighton and now displays artworks by Leighton and other pieces he collected.

Our tour started in the dazzling Arab Hall, quite unexpected as you enter through the simple red bricked Victorian facade that sits so politely on the street. Islamic tiles and gold leaf adorn the walls of this jewel of a space. A watery pool at the centre sits calmly underneath a golden dome. The Islamic interior was built by British artisans to Leighton's vision with materials that were imported. Looking up in the space are intriguing perforated screens to spaces beyond. You wonder who might be spying on this space for entertainment...

Our tour continued upstairs to the well lit artist studio where some of Leighton's collection of paintings hung. We were also lucky enough to be taken down into the basement to view the servant's quarters. Leighton's bedroom is one that we see so often when visiting the homes of historic artists/architects - a simple room with a single bed in much contrast to the elegance and affluence of the house that surrounds it. 

The red brick facade is simple at the ground approach but rises proudly to be crowned with pretty brick castellation and hints of the golden dome poking up in the background. We very much enjoyed our insight into the home of a Victorian artist and the jewels that can be preserved in both the art collection and the architecture. 

     Photo credit for the Arab Hall: e-architect