I have to admit, when I first started exploring London properly, I didn’t really get the Barbican, I couldn’t really understand why some people loved it. The more I have learnt about it and explored it however, the more fascinating and intriguing I find it. I am always interested to hear others opinions on it as well, so do let me know in the comments.
In this blog post I am going to cover 8 amazing architectural details to spot at the Barbican, but first, a quick run down of its history.
I would highly recommend the Barbican’s brilliant 90 minute architecture tour. You can find out more about it here.
What is the Barbican?
The Barbican is a huge Brutalist, post-war building estate in the North West corner of the City of London, that includes just over 2000 flats for around 4000 residents over 3 towers and a number of lower rise blocks.
Not only that, it also includes one the largest art centres in Europe, a below sea level cinema, two schools, a library and more.
Built on a bomb-site after World War Two, the Barbican was part of a vision of what a post-war Britain should look like.
Origins
The City of London, the financial district today, is where the Romans established London as Londinium nearly 2000 years ago, following the Roman invasion in 43AD.
In 110AD the Romans constructed a fort in the North West corner of the city, where the Southern edge of the Barbican Estate can be found today. They then built a defensive wall around the outside, incorporating the old fort, in around 200AD, remnants of which survive in the modern metropolis today.
The name ‘Barbican’ comes from the low latin word ‘Barbecana’ for a fortified outpost or gateway.
Throughout most of London’s history the area now occupied by the Barbican was very poor. It was predominantly encompassed by the ward of ‘Cripplegate Without’. This was, as the name suggests, the ward just outside Cripplegate, one of the city gates.
Right up until World War Two the area was a dense network of roads and housing and was traditionally the centre of the rag trade: fabric merchants, dress makers and tailoring.
The Blitz
The bombs started to rain down in 1940 and this area was catastrophically damaged. The fires from incendiary bombs blazed through the tightly packed streets and great swathes were razed to the ground.
Prior to the war the ward had a population of around 14,000, after the war this was just 48. You could walk for around half a mile and not come across a single standing building.
Construction
In the 1950s, three architects, Geoffrey Powell, Christoph Bon and Peter Chamberlin, known together as ‘CPB’, were employed to design a brand new estate for the area of around 16 hectares (27 football pitches).
They were young, idealistic and had cut their teeth designing the Golden Lane Estate next door. Inspired by the modernist architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965), they wanted to create something radical, visionary and for it to be an awe-inspiring symbol of London rising out of the ashes.
Construction started in 1960 and the Barbican was officially opened by the Queen in 1982, who described it as one of the ‘wonders of the modern world’.
The Features To Spot
1. The Concrete
‘Brutalism’ comes from the French ‘brut’, meaning raw, and is a stripped back style displaying bare materials and generally angular shapes. The Barbican actually in many ways challenges those tenets and is far more extravagant than classic brutalism (more on that later).
The Barbican used 130,000 cubic metres of concrete, enough to lay 19 miles of six lane roads. Rather astonishingly, an initial plan included cladding the entire structure in white marble, but this was rejected on the grounds of cost and the fact that concrete expands and contracts with heat meaning marble cladding would have most likely ended up dropping off.
Instead, to give the concrete the rough texture you see today, it was hand-drilled for 17 years.
2. The Pedways
A post-war vision for the City included elevating the pedestrians above the roads, away from cars, on high-rise ‘pedways’. The Barbican is the only real place where this was implemented before the plan was dropped in the 1980s.
It is part of the reason, I think, why it can be easy to get lost and confused in the Barbican.
3. Fortress-esque details
Inspired by the old Roman walls and fort, the Barbican has been designed almost like a fortress.
It therefore has design details reminiscent of castles such as portcullises, arrow slits and turrets.
All around the estate you will also see its logo in the shape of a castle.
It does however I think give the whole place a rather impenetrable feel and as if it is turning its back on the rest of the city.
4. Nods To Other Eras
One of the elements I love about the Barbican is that it incorporates many hints to other architectural styles.
The central area for example is meant to feel like a Roman forum, there are parts that are reminiscent of a Roman amphitheatre, Georgian squares and even medieval cloisters.
5. Cruise ship features
You will also notice architectural details that have a nautical feel to them. These air vents are meant to look like the funnels of a cruise liner for example.
This was part of an aim to appeal to those that enjoyed ‘Mediterranean holidays and French cuisine’. The Barbican was never intended as ‘social housing’ as such, but aimed from the start to the middle classes.
6. The Survivors
Do not miss the surviving buildings and structures scattered throughout, such as sections of the old Roman and medieval walls.
In the centre is the lovely St Giles Cripplegate Church. Originally built in the 14th century, it was gutted by incendiary bombs in the Blitz and was then heavily restored after the war.
You will also see Ironmongers Hall, built in 1925, home to the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers. You can see inside it on another my blog posts here.
7. The Conservatory
The Barbican is in many ways a photographer’s dream. The architects were very concerned with sight-lines, angles, light and symmetry.
The beautiful conservatory for example was designed to cover the fly tower of the theatre beneath. It houses over 1500 species of exotic plants and slots can be booked to visit for free here.
8. Tuning fork
One final little detail that I love is that on the building that houses the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, there is a repeated architectural feature that looks like a tuning fork.
I think it is a great example of the imagination and flair in some of the design decisions made.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I would highly recommend going on one of the Barbican’s fantastic regular architecture tours. You can find out more about them here.
Thank you for reading, more of London’s hidden history below!
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I was christened in St Giles, Cripplegate when we lived in nearby Whitecross St. I have been back many times and still manage to get lost! I actually quite love the Barbican Estate and think we can still learn much from their brave vision of modern housing. I later worked in a brutalist college building which frequently won “ugliest building” polls. However, it was designed to be flat outside and had metal drainpipes throughout the building. When it rained, the water on metal, was musical. It’s the clever ideas such as this that are easily missed.
Wonderful reflection on the Barbican. I was Assistant in charge of construction and final details of the two outer tower blocks in the 70’s (only the partners were The Architects). The ‘Grand Design’ attracted architects from all corners of the world.
I believe CPB designed the complex to feel permanent, strong, secure and inward looking with many large spaces creating intrigue, surprise and delight; abutting corporate City of London no mean task!
The tooled – roughened, concrete, after years of trials, was selected to be constructed with Cornish granite from the Penlee Quarry, near Newlyn, being of a greenish grey appearance. In some sub Podium levels, trials of other concrete might be seen.
Fascinating, well written.
A fascinating and knowledgeable
A fascinating and knowledgeable look at the Barbican. I never realised there was so much to it. I am loving all your posts, Jack. I used to explore the hidden gems of London either on my own or with my late son. Now I live far from London and have a disability so will probably never be able to join one of your walks, but your posts are the next best thing. Keep them coming,!