The Barbican, London’s Forgotten Utopia
Dubbed London’s middle-class council estate, the City of London-owned Barbican estate is calling for a £450 million cash injection. Opening its doors in 1982, this living and arts complex stands as a captivating blend of architectural prowess and cultural significance, embodying the brutalism of the 1980s amidst London’s evolving glass skyline. With time to kill between trains during reading week, I found myself drawn to the continually referenced, heatedly debated iconic architecture of The Barbican.
Perhaps in response to the devastation of World War II’s Blitz beneath the site’s foundations, the development is teaming with motifs of obstinate monumentality. Derived from the Old French for barbacane, a fortified defence outpost, The Barbican’s name alludes to its stature as a modern-day fortress, albeit a concrete one. Beneath its austerity lies an endeavor to integrate green space into this urban jungle. A waterfall cascades, greenery flourishes, and communal garden spaces envelop a central, rigid rectangular pond.
The Barbican is an emblem of misplaced utopian aspirations of the 1980s, attempting ‘all under one roof’ urban planning. Though a brisk 15 minute walk north of London Bridge, this puzzle piece of the city is positioned like a citadel of its own. The Barbican Arts Centre, nestled at the development’s core, serves as a performing arts venue and a public everything space boasting an art gallery, library, cinema, restaurant and… a greenhouse?
Walking through the elusive street entrance, a sense of immensity strikes. A downward sloping walkway meets an ever-soaring ceiling until you find yourself in the heart of the centre; an intimate yet sparse display of unchanged 1980s interior architecture. It is an early weekday morning, and a handful of what must be lucky remote workers occupy every table. The space is disorienting – whilst I stand on the ground floor I see the first and second overhang seemingly both above and beside me.
I climb the stairs to the floor above to see a more-than quiet martini bar next to what looks like a retired couple taking in the peace around them. As easy as it is to get lost navigating Barbican’s walkways and stairwells that don’t seem to take you where you thought they would, Barbican’s Kubrick-esuqe, lost in the backrooms charm builds to create what feels like a monolithic time capsule labyrinth straight from the eighties.
The Barbican stands as an architectural blend of considerate, utopian thinking brutalism that is almost ready to be cool again. Despite its abruptness within central London, the development remains a green sanctuary woven within the city’s urban tapestry.
Photo by Tommy Manning
