Recent visits
This journal serves as a record of my recent explorations at the Southbank Centre, Sir John Soane’s Museum, and a return visit to the Barbican Centre. Each location offered fresh insights and perspectives across various dimensions. To best capture these experiences, the majority of this journal comprises photographs, accompanied by captions that elucidate my observations and the insights gained during my visits.
My first destination was the Southbank Centre. Although my bus rides over Waterloo Bridge had frequently afforded me distant views of this brutalist complex, I had never before taken the opportunity to experience it up close. Thus, I specifically set aside a day to immerse myself in the unique architectural and cultural ambience of the Southbank Centre.
National Theatre
Hayward Gallery
The UK's humid temperate oceanic climate fosters an abundance of moss, far surpassing what I'm accustomed to in my hometown. This prevalence of moss, especially on the surfaces of concrete structures, captured my attention. It evoked thoughts of Bio-brutalism, blending the rawness of industrial design with the softness of nature in a harmonious coexistence.
Mossy concrete
Strikingly, the colour bright yellow manifests throughout every corner of the Southbank Centre. While the exact rationale—be it branding or something else—eludes me, the use of highly saturated colours as decorative elements is a common trait among London’s brutalist buildings. For instance, the Barbican Centre adopts red as its thematic hue within its interiors.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Upon arriving at Sir John Soane’s Museum, I was greeted by a lengthy queue, and after nearly an hour of waiting, I managed to step inside. While the museum felt crowded compared to typical galleries, it was surprisingly spacious for a former residence. Sir John Soane, an architect, had amassed a diverse collection of artworks from across the globe, ingeniously displaying them in every nook and cranny of his home. The museum also houses an extensive collection of architectural materials, including plans and paintings. I found myself particularly fascinated by the 18th-century architectural drawings, which bear a striking resemblance to modern-day CAD designs in their precision and detail.
Collections of Sir John Soane’s Museum
Collections of Sir John Soane’s Museum
I was captivated by the arrangement of the collections, though I remained uncertain whether they were displayed as per Sir John Soane’s original setup during his lifetime or if they had been reorganized for enhanced presentation.
Collections of Sir John Soane’s Museum
Collections of Sir John Soane’s Museum
Following my visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum, I proceeded to the Barbican Centre for a second exploration, this time with a focus on the finer details. As previously mentioned, the Barbican incorporates the colour red in its interior decoration, which evokes a sense of time travel, transporting me back to the 70s or 80s. This sensation reminded me of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) from the ‘Loki’ series, blending elements of modernism and futurism. Furthermore, I discovered that every exposed concrete surface at the Barbican was manually processed, with workers employing drills to achieve a deliberately uneven texture. The immense effort and presumably high cost required to construct such a vast housing complex in this manner left me in awe.
The Barbican Centre
Interior of The Barbican Centre
The Time Variance Authority (TVA) in the series ‘Loki’
The Conservatory of the Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre
