Make Your Own Corbusier Pillow!

The gradual invasion of all things Le Corbusier across the Barbican Centre continues, as these gorgeous photos show! Here's a sneak peak of what you can make at the upcoming Do Something Different weekend on 7 and 8 March.

On the Sunday you will have a unique opportunity to stuff your own Barbican (pillow that is!) with Janome sewing machines at the ready! The cushion is designed by People Will Always Need Plates and Clothkits and was commissioned by Barbican Education specially for this event.

The drop-in workshop will run from 11am to 4pm. All you need is a voucher from Box Office at the teeny tiny cost of £10 which will cover all materials that you need along with expert help to guide you through the process. The voucher can be redeemed at any point that you are ready during the day.

Trained staff will be on hand to help you but children must be accompanied by an adult at all times...

Other weird and wonderful things happening over the weekend include:

• Play the ukulele
• Ride our static low-tech interractive East London Cycling Machine designed by Vitra for the weekend
  
• Learn dance routines from the movies
  
• Write Xenakis-style music while playing giant snakes & ladders
  
• Watch free performances across the Barbican foyers of Boy Blue and the Bell Boys
• Join a marathon series of events in Day in the Life of Le Corbusier: fill your passport of activities as you reenact the daily routine of the architect of the 20th Century.

Drop by and let us know what you get up to!

In search of Barbican Livings

On the occasion of the exhibition Le Corbusier –The Art of Architecture, Barbican Art Gallery is organising two ‘Barbican Living’ days to offer the public a chance to learn more about the Barbican Estate and the ideas put forward by Le Corbusier. Indeed many links can be made between the Barbican (and Golden Lane Estate) built by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. Links will also be made with the work of Le Corbusier such as Unité d’habitation in Marseille. The Unité kitchen featured in the exhibition is a fantastic connection – it and those of the Barbican have obvious similarities.

The Barbican Art Gallery team has hunted down Barbican residents, largely architects and designers, who have agreed to open their flats to visitors. To do this, we placed an advert in various publications regularly read by the Barbican residents.

'Calling all Architects Designers living in the Barbican!!
Are you an architect or designer living in the Barbican Estate? Have you recently commissioned an architect to refurbish your flat? Does your apartment still have original design features?
If so, we would like you to get in touch with us.'

Once a wide list of residents was established (thanks to the ad, but also thanks to word of mouth), we went to visit flats all around the estate in order to prepare a rich and varied program for the ‘Barbican Living’ days. So far we have visited 15 flats in order to put together a varied and exciting tour program.

Some of the tours are already sold out so hurry up if you also want to be part of one of our ‘Barbican Living’ days!

Photo David King