London Architecture

I found the lecture on London Architecture to be very interesting since the buildings and history are very different compared to the surroundings I am used to at home. One of the areas I found most interesting was the Barbican. The area is a 35 acre bomb site that was purchased by the city of London corporation. It is a 1955 design that had flats for 6,500 people. It is also known as the tallest European residential towers. There are 43 stories and it stands at 400 feet high. The area includes shops, schools, theatre, gallery, and museum of London. I found this information interesting because while I have been walking around London with my boss for my internship, I have been to many different areas of London, and the Barbican was one of them. My boss pointed out the buildings to me, and even told me a little of information about it. It was really cool to hear more information in the lecture about an area I had already been exposed to but didn't know alot about. Since the buildings were built in order to provide housing for so many people, alot of wealthy business men and bankers have bought some of the units as investments, hoping to rent them out or sell them in the future in order to make a profit.
Another part of the lecture that I found interesting was about the 3 grades of listed buildings. Grade I is buildings of outstanding or exceptional interest. Grade II* is important buildings of more than special interest, not of outstanding class. Grade II is buildings of special interest which warrant every effort to preserve them.
The last part of the lecture that I found interesting was how the buildings that are thought to be built in the future have interesting names based on the shape. My favorite was the "Cheese Grater". It is currently a hole in the ground and right now is a victim of the recession. The reason the building is planned to be slanted, giving it the cheese grater look, is because it has to have the protected views of St. Pauls Cathedral.