Barbican Residents Contemporary Living Room, London

In both the towers and terrace blocks, the layout of the flats was designed to maximise the amount of natural light in the rooms that would most benefit from it. Bedrooms, dining rooms and living rooms are therefore positioned along external walls, while kitchens and bathrooms are placed against inner walls. The generous windows allow light to stream into all areas of the flats. When asked about her favourite aspect, Sophy told Rodriguez, “The light and the full-height windows. The flat layouts are so clever they create a real sense of quality space and movement, even though the floor area is actually fairly modest.“The detailing makes you want to weep – solid timber sliding doors with mechanisms that still work as well as the day they were installed 40 years ago, and the staircases and handrails,” she adds.