01/10/2025
The Barbican Estate by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon Architects (1963–1982)
The word “Barbecana” comes from Low Latin, meaning a fortified outpost, and the area takes its name from the nearby Roman wall. The site was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe on 29 December 1940 during the Second World War.
In the post-war years, the district lost much of its residential population to commercial redevelopment, threatening the political status of the City of London. To counter this decline, a high-density housing scheme was proposed in 1955 by Peter Chamberlin, Geoffrey Powell, and Christoph Bon of the Kingston School of Art.
The estate was designed with a focus on public spaces and vertical gardens. Alongside housing, it included a concert hall, theatre, shopping mall, and landscaped lakes with fountains and a waterfall.
The facades are finished in pick-hammered concrete, giving them a textured, monumental character. One of Barbican's defining features is the two-level design: highwalks that link buildings above, and a podium level below containing communal spaces, services, and landscaping — separating pedestrian movement from cars and infrastructure. Its towers feature exo-skeletal piers, “saw-tooth” balconies, deep window reveals, and expressive rooflines. Their distinctive curved cantilevered balconies were inspired by ship design.
In 2001, the Barbican was granted Grade II listed status for its special architectural and historic interest.