34. The Barbican - Living in an Architectural Experiment with Gaby and Howard of GreyScape

Welcome back to the Jo’s Art History Podcast!

It’s episode 34 and the penultimate episode of season one and today, I have something really special for you all!

As some of you may remember my second episode of the Jo’s Art history Podcast was all about The Barbican, the incredible brutalist social housing estate in London which people either love or love hate.

If you have listened to the episode, you will know I love the barbican and everything it stands for, so I was beyond delighted when the brilliant Gaby and Howard who live in the Barbican got in touch to suggest an episode offering an insider’s view of living there!

Which is exactly what this episode is!

Gaby and Howard offer a unique inside look into living in an architectural experiment, the changing perception of the Barbican throughout their history of living there and how this amazing building has kicked started GreyScape, their online site which celebrates and discusses all things Brutalist architecture and the amazing ‘concrete community’ this has now formed over the last 4 years!

This is a really special conversation where Gaby and Howard talk openly about the ever evolving opinion and interactions about the Barbican and how the city and it’s opinion of the estate has evolved, why Brutalist architecture gets a bad name and suggest why it is so important to look again at these buildings and what they tell us about the time periods in which they were built.

Thank you so much to Gaby and Howard. It was a privilege.

Enjoy everyone - this one is special.

J x

Guests:

Gaby & Howard of GreyScape

Website: https://www.greyscape.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbican_city_of_london/

The Barbican: https://www.barbican.org.uk