Photo essay: photographer Anton Rodriguez has documented the interiors of 22 homes at the iconic Barbican Estate in London.
In his new book, titled Residents: Inside the Iconic Barbican Estate, London-based Rodriguez aims to highlight the stylish living spaces created by many residents of the brutalist complex, which is home to over 4,000 people.
The photographs capture an assortment of impressive spaces, from a vibrantly chaotic flat filled with artworks, books and plants, to a carefully styled home with an extensive collection of mid-century furnishings and ornate objects.
In this essay ? an edited version of the book's foreword ? design writer Katie Treggiden explains why there is so much interest in going behind the scenes at the estate.
A sense of privacy and protection is built into the Barbican estate's architecture. Designed to shield its residents from the outside world ? whether that was the aftermath of the Blitz, the surrounding industry of the city, or the traffic below ? this holistic experiment in urban housing is both of the city and apart from it; a place whose unmistakable "otherness" inspires both devotion and distaste, and somewhere that has a captivating power to spark curiosity and speculation among those looking in from the outside.
James and Kirsten's home features a wall of books and simple furnishings
The original brief had been to establish the viability of "providing living accommodation for a large number of people, who...