Scheme to improve accessibility and sustainability at grade II-listed complex
The City of London has approved plans designed by an Allies and Morrison-led team to refurbish and restore the Barbican Arts Centre in a decision welcomed by heritage groups.
The scheme, designed in collaboration with Asif Khan Studio and engineer Buro Happold, will focus on improving accessibility and sustainability at the grade II-listed Brutalist complex.
Its planning application was granted approval by the City using delegated powers last week, while the Square Mile committed £191m in funding towards the £231m scheme in December.
The design team was appointed to the job in 2022, beating rival bidders in a competition launched by the City of London including teams led by Adjaye Associates, BIG, Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
The Allies and Morrison team’s plans, unveiled last year, are seeking to address a range of longstanding issues at the arts complex including deteriorating fabric and a lack of step-free access to many key areas.
A refurbishment of the Conservatory will entirely replace the structure’s glazing to enable a fully climate-controlled habitat, while adding a new lift and stair to provide step-free access to upper areas for the first time.
The work is understood to require all plants to be temporarily removed from the area, while the popular visitor attraction’s much-loved terrapins - which originally roamed wild on Hampstead Heath and were adopted by the Barbican in 2007 - will be rehomed.
A second lift will also be added to the Barbican’s main foyer, improving accessibility to the concert hall and theatre, while other spaces including the lakeside terrace and library will be sensitively refurbished.
The City of London and the Barbican Renewal Team worked closely with heritage groups during the development of the project, which will include no newbuild space and focus instead on bringing the complex up to modern standards.
Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft said she was “delighted” the restoration was moving forward, adding that she welcomed the scheme’s “sensitive, heritage-led approach”.
Croft said the plans “balance the need to widen access to the arts centre with carefully reinstating and replicating original design features from 1982.”
Historic England chair Neil Mendoza said the heritage advisor was “excited to see these plans realised” adding that the City’s funding commitment underlined its “commitment to enrich its cultural offer through its historic estate”.
Other major heritage renewal schemes in the Square Mile include the transformation of the Smithfield Market site into the new Museum of London, beig carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine, and Mace’s Salisbury Square development, which will become the new headquarters of the City of London Police.
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