Barbican Penthouse Over the City (2004)

Penthouse Over the City sheds light on one of the most ambitious, and controversial, architectural undertakings of the last century; the Barbican Estate. This leviathan project, with its futuristic vision and Byzantine intricacy included, in its final incarnation, the highest apartments in Europe, an underground railway and an arts centre composed of a theatre, concert hall, art galleries, cinemas and a library. Its grand-scale conception included elements drawn from the rustication of Florentine palaces, the water and walkways of Venice, the elegant squares of Georgian London and the high-rise designs of the U.S. Today, the cultural and architectural communities are re-assessing the site’s significance in light of the achievement it represents. To its residents, Barbican living is an addiction. Its story spans decades or changing ideologies and tastes, and this book tells its full story for the first time.