Minister of Culture visits London’s world-famous Barbican Centre
Minister of Culture visits London’s world-famous Barbican Centre
2026-09-07
It was once dubbed one of London’s ugliest buildings, but today, it’s a bustling cultural base with countless fans right in the heart of London. Though the Barbican Centre may be famous for its imposing brutalist concrete walls, behind them lies a surprising urban oasis, complete with lush gardens and a massive indoor conservatory. Taiwan’s Culture Minister Li Yuan has visited the Barbican as part of his UK tour. During the visit, he took inspiration from the unique blend of nature, housing and culture, in hopes of bringing these ideas back home to Taiwan.
Lush gardens, shimmering ponds. People enjoy the amazing weather outdoors. The brutalist concrete architecture of this complex previously earned it a reputation as the ugliest building in London. But now people are loving it.
Lin Yung-chi
FTV reporter
We’re at the Barbican Centre, a stunning apartment complex housing thousands of families. There’s a church, a school, a library, and an abundance of arts spaces. Culture is right at your doorstep here.
The 40-acre site integrates residences with spaces such as cinemas and galleries, and houses Europe’s largest performing arts center. Fans of the building call it a utopia in the heart of the city, and many artsy individuals have moved in over the years.
The Barbican Centre even has a massive conservatory packed with 1,500 plant species that have taken over the concrete structure. This architectural marvel was the first stop on the itinerary for Minister of Culture Li Yuan, who is on a tour of the UK. The guided tour of the facilities presented an opportunity to learn.
Li Yuan
Minister of Culture
An urban forest is essentially a green space created within the city. It’s a concept that we will work on as part of a four-year plan encompassing all the institutions under the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Culture is set to launch a project next year to integrate ecological planning at museums, cultural facilities and 100 cultural bases. The plan is not just about urban forests, but about equal access to culture.
Li Yuan
Minister of Culture
What I’ve seen here at the Barbican Centre, is the environment I envisioned for Taiwan: a space with a close connection between residential areas, nature and culture. Our goal is to promote cultural equality, and ensure that people can easily access culture near their homes.
Patrick Moran
Barbican Centre
The conservatory is really emblematic of the utopian idea of the Barbican, that this was a new way to live. Thinking about how London could be very different, how people’s relationship to culture. We’re going into a very big refurbishment, renewal project, which I mentioned earlier. The Minister was saying those ideas of making the institution more open.
The Barbican Centre is set to undergo a year-long renovation, and will reopen to the public with a brand-new look.
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#barbicancentre #london #getthelondonlook #brit #culture
最醜建築變藝文烏托邦! 李遠考察倫敦巴比肯曝最新政策
2026-09-07
睽違多年，台灣文化部長再次開啟訪英交流，首站來到倫敦巴比肯藝術中心，這裡曾被稱為倫敦最醜建築，但如今成為熱門藝文地標，將住宅融合學校、教堂與藝文場館，還藏著超過1500種植物的溫室花園，李遠透露文化部已經加入行政院推動的都市林計畫，在博物館等藝文場所，注入更多綠意空間。
綠意盎然的庭園，波光粼粼的水池，民眾坐在陽光下享受悠閒時光，四周被灰色水泥牆包圍，粗獷主義的建築風格，一度被批評為倫敦最醜建築物，但卻有越來越多人為它著迷。
[[民視記者 林詠琪]]
“這裡是倫敦的巴比肯中心，可以看到環境非常優美，總計有數千多戶的人住在這裡，不只有教堂、學校、圖書館，甚至還有許多藝文中心，等於你一出門，就可以享受種種藝文活動”
約四十英畝的土地，融合住宅、電影院、畫廊等空間，擁有歐洲最大的表演藝術中心，又被稱為倫敦城市中的傳奇烏託邦，吸引許多藝術家定居。
更驚喜的，還有藏在建築裡的溫室花園，超過1500種植物，沿著水泥牆向上自由生長，文化部長李遠到英國參訪，首站就來到巴比肯藝術中心，在館方的導覽下，意外開啟更多交流！
[[文化部長 李遠]]
“都市林的概念，就是在城市裡面創造綠地，都市林會是我們未來，我們政府做連續四年的計畫，文化部的所有館所，還有未來我們找的那個社區”
文化部也積極加入都市林計畫，預計明年正式啟動，未來希望從博物館、文化設施，到百大文化基地都加入生態規劃，當然更重要的還有落實文化平權。
[[文化部長 李遠]]
“其實我來這邊巴比肯，看到的就是我最理想中的一個(環境) ，在城市裡面住宅區跟環境，還有文化很靠近，文化部要做的可能就是，這一種文化平權，就是大家居住的地方，距離文化設施不遠”
[[巴比肯藝術中心商業策略暨合作總監 派崔克莫倫]]
“這座溫室花園，非常能代表巴比肯的烏托邦概念，這裡當初就是希望，打造全新的生活方式，思考倫敦的不同想像，以及人們與文化共存的關係，我們將著手進行一項規模宏大的翻新與更新工程，這正是我之前提到的。就像李遠部長剛提到的，我們希望讓文化機構更加開放”
巴比肯藝術中心也將展開為期一年的閉館整修，將會以全新風貌與民眾再次見面。
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