Cultural Real Estate

 

Design for modern living : Influenced by Le Corbusier's Unite d'habitation, the Barbican Estate is a city within a city, an outlier & an enclave, the unique result of progressive town planning & urban architecture after bombs had flattened the area in the blitz. Designed by CPB (whose only previous work was the neighbouring Golden Lane Estate) the project took 30yrs to fully realise and has consistently sustained as many detractors as fans. Its arts centre, schools, offices & accommodation span across 40 acres with over 2,100 apartments. The location, the tranquility, the concrete, the library, the tennis courts & the galleries make this our brutalist jewel in the City of London's crown.

Town Magazine

 

Concept, Direction, Design & Production : We make stylish, intelligent fashion communication with integrity & efficiency. Thats what we do commercially and editorially, created in-house and with our rich source of associates. Having shot in The Brunswick Centre, The Royal Festival Hall & Golden Lane we were relishing the opportunity to shoot an International, scholastic story at the Barbican for current issue of Town Magazine. We were fortunate to be accommodated by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama: a kind of modernist Fame school for the gifted & talented. See more at this link and throughout the JJMarshall' portfolio site.

Bibliotheque

 

The Ultras : The only superfluous decoration in Bibliotheque's studio is the many awards that are hoisted upon them, for they are the designers graphic designers: pure, rigorous and unerringly professional. No surprise then that they are much sought after by cultural institutions to make sense of their identity and their exhibits. The Barbican had little choice in their commission of Jon, Mason & Tim to handle their Le Corbusier exhibition, a triumvirate of modernist minds - Corb' at the Barb' by Biblio'. They are also early collaborators of JJMarshall Associates, having worked closely on adidas and  Motorola jobs, we like to think that our unfussy, naturalistic approach to visual communication compliments the cleanliness & clarity of their typography.

Modern House

 

Property Porn : Founded by journalists Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd, The Modern House is an estate agents like no other. Taking the simple premise of selling property based on style & quality rather than location, they solely market 'modern' homes of architectural integrity. The result is an ever-changing online portfolio of mouth watering houses and apartments from 1930 to the present day. For this reason they are the go-to agents for properties in the various Barbican towers and blocks, including this one pictured high up with its central London views. Damn.

Curve Gallery

 

Temporary Installations : Embracing the avant garde, the Curve Gallery hosts the most radical work in the Arts Centre program. Upcoming this month is the turn of multimedia arts group, United Visual Artists. Favourites of last few years have been the popular Rain Room by genius Random International (motion control sensors connected to giant sprinkler system, giving perception of controlling rain) and the guitar-playing Finchs' by crazy Céleste Boursier-Mougenot (birds let loose on electric guitars throughout the day). Occasionally the modernist sobriety needs this behaviour.

Golden Lane

 

Secondary Modern : We have created stories, look-books & campaigns all around the familiar EC1/ EC2 area, from the real-market scenario of Whitecross St to the meat-market world of Spitalfields. But our favourite metropolitan 'English' setting is The Barbican's humble cousin & neighbour, Golden Lane Estate. This unpretentious, idyllic social housing scheme ticks all the boxes of sustainable urban living. Observations, rekky shots and landscape studies combine from our many travels & uploaded on our  tumblr site... 

Robin Day

 

Our Eames : The godfather of British modernist furniture, Robin Day, held the most suspiciously nebulous but fantastic role at The Barbican : Seating Consultant. Most famous for his 1960s polypropylene stacking chairs, he echoed the original Barbican principles of good design being readily available to all (At school in Britain during the 70s & 80s? you sat on this chair). For the Barbican he designed various auditorium and common-area seating, all with impeccable taste. Find original & reissues up the road in N1's twenty twenty one.

Saint Etienne

 

Pop cultural presents : Saint Etienne are the audio equivalent of the Barbican : quintessentially English, modern, progressive & knowing, but looking affectionately backwards most of the time. They have a long standing association with the Barbican Arts Centre with numerous film & music commissions and appearances. Look out for their pre-World Cup film screenings of British footballing documentaries including their recent ode to Hendon FC, Monty the Lamb, and we're hoping a possible inclusion of the wonderful 1961 West Bromwich Albion study, The Saturday Men.