Braidwood Passage – Nicely reinvented with hand-made tiles

The scaffold has been removed and Braidwood Passage is again available as a link between Aldersgate Street and Cloth Street. It's a delight – and really uplifting to see some attractive new architecture, employing unusual bespoke decorative elements. 

This teal blue tiled wall with splashes of colour beckoned me to investigate its full length. The V-shape or zig-zag tiles form a lattice effect and are randomly interspersed with unique hand-painted designs in pinks, yellows and red by Alexis Teplin. It's a delight.

I wonder if these patterns depict something specific, or perhaps they form a whole image or design when placed together. 

The next two pics show the Cloth Street end (left) and then half-way back to Aldersgate Street looking across to The Barbican complex (right):

Nice. More about the project can me found on Fletcher Priest Architects site here. 

As I write this, I've just noticed that the City of London bollards that have been installed at both ends are not the same as the one that was at the Barbican end before the reconstruction of this site – the 'new' ones are a different shape and don't sport the coat of arms – see previous year here.

Here's the main entrance of the building which echoes the lattice zig-zag effect as panels set at an angle across the façade:

Here's hoping that the Museum of London building on the opposite side of the street (a sad loss imho) will be replaced with something similarly attractive. 

Bernard Morgan House, Golden Lane Estate, Barbican

After delivering some of my cards to Exhibit on Goswell Road last month, I went for a walk around the Barbican complex and then to the Golden Lane Estate.
The marvellously colourful tiled entrance of Bernard Morgan House caught my eye:

Wonderful colors and images

Walking anti-clockwise around the building in to Golden Lane itself I noticed that all was not well; the garden area was in a terrible state and plants had been allowed to climb up the building. It was obvious that no one was living there now.

Taking the concept of urban meadows to a new level

 And then I spotted the demolition signs attached to the building.

The cobbled ramp that leads from the street, more fab tiles on the northern end of the building and, at the rear, specific signs of how the prep for demolition was underway

These pics were taken a month ago. The building may have gone completely by now. I know it's not a pretty structure but the whole of the Golden Lane Estate was constructed in the 1950s to bring social/affordable housing in a harmonious open plan environment to this area of London. It seems a shame that this building has not stood the test of time like so many similar structures in the area.
What will happen to the tiles? Can I have them please...?

Whitecross Street Party this Saturday 16th July

AKA The Rise of the Non-Conformists – this is a colourful, vibrant, musical event is well worth a visit.
I will have a stall there and, in addition to a selection of my clay pipe jewellery, I will for the first time be selling my  London Central cards featuring St Pauls, Barbican, Battersea Power Station and the like, as well a selection of the North London ones (click the image of them, above right).
Here is a link to a post I did about this event in 2013.
I have only just realised as I was writing that this follows on from my last post about Old Street as Whitecross Street is on its south side almost opposite St Luke's Church, so after or pre the street party why not go check out those cart entrances and unusual signs etc...?

The Barbican

Is anyone else still getting lost in the Barbican? Or is it just me?

I find it hard to get in and out of the complex (ha ha!), or from one side of the lake terrace to the other side without going ever so slightly mad. Where are the signs?! In many cases you have to up and over rather than down and across, and this is just not made clear. The only thing to "help" are those 50mm colour coded lines on the pavement that you are intended to follow. It's like a human game of Super Mario. 

(The general area – info re pics at the bottom) 

Even inside the arts centre itself I can go missing for hours trying to find the toilets, an event space or a cinema. 

But it's always worth the frustration in the end. 

A few years ago I went to an seminar on an upper floor and discovered a fantastic garden adjacent an exhibition space. I had no idea until that day that those spaces existed. 

There's always a lot going on at the Barbican, especially this month, so it's worth unearthing your compass and other orienteering paraphernalia to make the assault on the building – be sure to plan ahead and consult the latest OS maps or Google Satelitte. 

It's a fabulous environment to see a theatre production, or a film, and there are usually interesting exhibitions on the various levels. It's also a lovely place to meet friends for a drink, or make use of the wonderful spaces that are perfect for just sitting, reading, working or relaxing. 

Also, on at the Barbican at the moment – the foyers are being turned into a pop-up designer-makers market selling all sorts of gorgeous hand-made products. Wednesday–Sunday every week until 22nd December. More information here.

The bottom row of photos includes CLE,1969, a pre-1966 telephone code. This is one of two still visible on shops in Goswell Road (CLE was the old code for Clerkenwell). The third photo in that row shows a section of the Blitz-flattened (now Barbican) site in 1942 (taken from a building in Little Moorfields by Police Constables Arthur Cross and Fred Tibbs – more of their photos from this period can be found at The London Metropolitan Archives.)