The Barbican Is Getting Old. Can Architecture Let It Age? 

Architecture Bulletin | Going beyond the headlines | 6-min Read

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The Story in a Minute:  A full press release by the Barbican press room recently announced that the Barbican is finally getting a £231 million (£191 million towards Phase 1) makeover. This is basically a part of the Barbican Renewal Project by the City of London Corporation. The whole project basically revolves around a conservation-led plan to upgrade the accessibility, flexibility, sustainability and aging of this Grade II-listed, Brutalist arts center.

Moreover, the proposed plan also includes a step-free access throughout the centre, a second lift that connects the concert hall & theater, another lift in the conservatory, signages, extra toilets and a multi-faith room. The designers also plan to create some more spaces for exhibitions, performances, learning programmes and community activities. Plus, they also want to conserve the Barbican’s Brutalist foyers and lake-side terraces by retro-fitting the existing materials like the conservatory glass and pavers. 

Timeline wise, authorities expect to begin in 2027. So yes, most Barbican activities and plays might stop between its most intensive phase in June 2028 and June 2029. And that’s it basically: £231 million, a 1982 Brutalist icon and a rather ambitious attempt to make the Barbican work better without making it feel less Barbican. 

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Banner Image Credits: By Andy Mabbett – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33579435, No changes made. 

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What Is the Barbican?

So, the Barbican is one of London’s most celebrated arts and cultural complexes and a Grade-II listed center. Architecture-wise, it has all these bush & pick-hammered concrete forms, raw barrel roofs, funnel-style air vents & steel accents that make it Brutalist in nature. 

But that’s not all! It’s also this whole cultural destination with a concert hall, theatre, galleries, cinemas, library, restaurants, public spaces and even the famous Conservatory! It literally hosts everything from theatre productions and concerts to exhibitions, films, learning programmes and community activities. In fact, Jane Perrone ma’am also mentioned how the Conservatory has over 1200 plants & 300 succulents including the Pachycaul Nettle, Obetia ficifolia, Peyote Cactus, Dioon spinulosum and so much more! Then, its Arid house also has the Burro’s tail succulent, Sedum morganianum and the golden barrel cactus. I really feel we should call it “eco-brutalism” in a way. 

Date wise, the Barbican opened in 1982 and now receives more than a million visitors every year. Its Grade II listing means it is recognized for its special architectural and historic interest, so the renewal has to improve the building while respecting what makes it significant in the first place. Which brings us to the real question: what exactly needs fixing in a building that already works so hard as an architectural icon?

So… What Actually Needs Fixing at the Barbican?

See, people have been using the Barbican Center for more than four decades now. So, it’s obvious that its building systems and aging materials have deteriorated, while some of its public spaces feel cramped and limited. The Barbican Renewal therefore focuses on repairing the existing building, upgrading infrastructure, improving accessibility and bringing underused spaces back into public use. 

The first in the list are the Foyers and Lakeside terraces. And they actually have tons of smaller issues like the limited visitor seating and dim, uninviting lighting, narrow door canopies and negative spaces. So one, the renewal plans to improve the lighting, accessibility, visitor facilities, views and infrastructure. And two, it plans to water-proof and repave the Lakeside paving and fountains while maintaining the concrete, glazing and shading as it is. 

Next is the iconic Barbican conservatory where the glass is aging, the waterproofing has failed and the floor is leaking. Plus, there are tremendous heating, cooling, ventilation and irrigation challenges due to the narrow paths, multiple level changes and stairs. In fact, I also saw some overgrown plants, degraded planters and really limited back-of-house space for the gardening team during my last visit there. I literally found half of the plants either in poor health or with mealy bugs and aphids! Sounds uncool, right? 

And last but not the least, wayfinding, visitor facilities, bathroom provisions, accessibility and public use are still questionable! I really think that the Barbican doesn’t just need a cosmetic makeover. It needs a serious upgrade w.r.t the spaces and area program only.

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But They Are Not Trying to Make It New…..

So as I already mentioned, the Barbican Renewal isn’t about giving the Center a new, shiny look. In fact, it’s much more about REPAIR, REVEAL & REUSE without adding a single square inch to the building. Here are the exact details: 

• Back to the Original Foyers: So, the renewal plans to add more seating & use the three central bays to connect the foyers with the lakeside once again. Plus, it plans to remove all the later additions, the modern lights, the shades, everything. In fact, the designers are even planning to recreate LED versions of the OG square ceiling coffer lights to save resources
• The Lakeside Terrace: Next, the Lakeside Terrace gets a similar treatment. Like, its existing concrete remains, while the paving gets re-waterproofed or replaced. Plus, the team’s also planning to repair the white tiled facades, fountains, and strip off the later additions to restaurant and cafe exteriors. There will be other upgrades as well, say new planting, lighting, shading and energy-efficient glazing to improve the space as a whole. 
• Repairing the Conservatory: As for the conservatory, the team is planning to reuse the existing glass and pavers wherever possible for the railing, partitions, etc. They also plan to install a new climate-controlled habitat to support plant health, a new lift and stair to improve access to the raised balconies and plazas to get good views through the Conservatory. 

The Conservatory Is Where Things Get Really Interesting

Do you know that the Barbican conservatory is actually the only place where designers had to solve ageing infrastructure, landscaping issues, plant & water proofing problems, circulation, vertical movement and environmental performance all at once? Well, yes! You see, there’s a 2000 sq.m glass and steel roof, there’s a multi-level Conservatory, there’s 1500 plant species and what not! So, the architects basically have to repair the building while also rethinking how people, plants, water and climate work with it simultaneously!

1. Reworking on Accessibility

Now, the problem with the existing Barbican conservatory was that it had really narrow paths, multiple level changes, and dead ends. So, technically people could use only 30% of the space without stairs. Thus, the renewal project plans to remove the existing floor and planting completely, and rethink the Barbican floor plan as a whole. This includes:

• Reconfiguring the 1.3m deep planters & beds to create step-free, universal access
• Increasing the available public space by 25% and accessibility from around 30% to 100%.
• Adding a new stair & lift to connect the currently inaccessible fly-tower balconies. 
• Adjusting the facade line to complete the circular route around the flytower at each balcony level. 

Quick Note: Please note that there isn’t a single uniform circulation grid super-imposed across the Conservatory. The west side has a more formal layout, while the east one still remains curvy & informal. 

2. Sectional Planting of the Barbican Conservatory

As we all know, the Barbican’s conservatory is what gives it its iconic eco-Brutalist character. Basically the contrast of the dramatic & exotic vegetation set against concrete & steel. So, the renewal plans to maintain this contrast, but still structure the planting by: 

• Layering the planting at different heights to overlap the views from all the three levels.
• Creating hierarchy & focal points with larger, distinctive species to frame the space and direct the eye and movement visually.
• Contrasting textures & foliage forms to create visual interest at both room and plant level.
• Going for immersive planting, i.e adding lush planting wraps with plants, creepers & succulents around visitors instead of sticking to core border plantation. 
• Adding three indicative planting zones: temperate, subtropical & temperate dry and arid for better zoning. 

So the designers are basically using the planting to construct views with different heights, densities and focal points from the ground level, immediate balconies & above.

3. Recovering the Landscape

So several of the proposed landscape renovation interventions obviously refer back to the original architectural vision of Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. They are: 

• Relocating the indoor conservatory pond to a central, sunnier location with more heat and sunlight for the fragile aquatic plants as per the original drawings
• Move to a drier planting character with succulents and cacti on the eastern-side
• Try to relocate all the mature Arid-house cacti in a sunnier position & repurpose the arid house into a breeding space instead. 
• Add a central reflecting pool with custom-seating & aquatic plants

Then, Gardens Illustrated also describes how the existing glass envelope is failing and how the Conservatory’s outdated technical systems struggle for horticulture. So, the Harris Bugg studio team first has to audit the existing plants and their growing conditions before finalizing the new planting strategy. 

4. Work on the Barbican Backstage!

Next, the Barbican Renewal Project also plans to tackle all the current backstage and gardening team problems by adding: 

• A dedicated back-of-house area for the Gardening Team for cleaning, maintenance and pruning
• A purpose-built nursery for plant propagation (probably in the Arid house)
• A new glazed enclosure to separate the garden room & terrace into event spaces
• A new arrival and welcome area to connect the conservatory to the highwalk & sculpture court.
• More places to sit, gather and dwell in the barbican landscape itself. 

Fun Fact: You know the designers originally built the Barbican Conservatory to partly hide the Theatre’s large fly tower. But today, that same six-storey structure is becoming a major part of the visitor experience, with new lifts, stairs and balconies to observe the plants from different levels. 

Wait… Is The Barbican Renewal Actually a Sustainability Story?

Yes, the Barbican Renewal Project is sustainable in that sense. In fact, it’s less about adding new green features and more about reducing embodied carbon, improving energy performance & material life. Here are some more details: 

• No new floor area to the Barbican. It’s a retro-fit approach; so there’s no demolition, material waste and carbon impact either. 
• Use the existing materials like the conservatory glass and pavers wherever possible. Plus, the designers might even use some more glass in the external triangle space for the new plant propagation glass house.
• Finish some old panels & shutters in new terrazzo finishes rather than discarding them. 
• The Barbican will eventually get energy updates too; say energy-efficient building systems, improved glazing and doors, lower energy LED-lighting and facade upgrades to increase natural light
• Rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing & irrigation
• Try to make it net zero carbon for its own operations by 2027 with investment and supply-chain emissions targeted for 2040 as per the City of London Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy. 

So, the carbon story here is obviously actually quite simple: keep the building, reuse its materials, reduce operational energy, minimise new embodied carbon and make the existing fabric perform better. That’s a very different sustainability strategy from simply building something new and more efficient.

Can You Renovate Brutalism Without Losing Brutalism? 

See, Brutalism is indeed tough to renovate because the structure, material and architectural character literally seem inseparable! It’s just exposed material, right? Hence, it’s obvious that the exposed concrete, steel, coffers, wood-block flooring and brass details have to remain at the Barbican! Thus, the conservation approach is quite precise with the following details: 

• Foyers: Retain the hand-hammered concrete, wood-block flooring, brass handrails and terrazzo. And then, recreate the original lighting within the square ceiling coffers using low-energy LEDs obviously.
• A small Silk Street facade adjustment completes the circular route around the fly tower, while a new lift and stair open the balconies to visitors.
• Reconfigured levels and paths take accessible space from around 30% to 100%. This eventually preserves the formal west side and more flowing east-side landscape character altogether

So the conservation journey is simple: retain → repair → remove intrusive additions → restore original intent → insert only what the building needs. Period.

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So, What Happens Next?

Well, we all know that the Barbican Renewal is already underway and that Phase 1 runs from 2025-2030. Here’s a rough timeline you can expect: 

• 2025: Phase 1 development, consultation and essential infrastructure upgrades, toilet plumbing and drainage, lifts and fire-safety systems.
• 2027: Major on-site construction including renewal at the Foyers, Lakeside, Conservatory and associated infrastructure
• End of June 2028–June 2029: The Barbican will pause most activities within the Centre for approximately one year while the most intensive works take place. The Beech Street cinemas will remain open during this period.
• 2030: Phase 1, including the major restoration and refurbishment of the Foyers, Lakeside, Conservatory and restaurants finishes!
• Beyond 2030: Barbican Renewal is a 10-20 year programme. So, we’ll obviously update this section as and when our Bulletin team gets updates on the Phase 2 development. But as of now, the current approved funding is £231 million for Phase 1, of which the City of London Corporation has committed £191 million.

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Editorial Note: Architecture Bulletin isn’t here to repeat press releases. Every story is independently researched using official documents, project information and trusted industry sources. We then expand the story with additional context, analysis and editorial insights so you don’t just know what happened; you understand why it matters. 

Citations & Credits

• Banner Image Credits: By Andy Mabbett – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33579435, No changes made. 
• https://www.janeperrone.com/on-the-ledge/barbican-conservatory 
• https://www.barbican.org.uk/exhibition-guides/barbican-renewal-consultation-foyers 
• https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60cb0aba3b0cf930503679d6/t/67ae0eb6e353f661d3586c2c/1739460292953/GardensIllustrated_Barbican_Feb25.pdf 
• https://www.gardensillustrated.com/  
• https://www.barbican.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2025-08/Barbican%20Renewal%20May%20consultation%20report.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com 
• https://www.barbican.org.uk/our-story/press-room/green-light-for-landmark-barbican-transformation-plan 
• https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/barbican-renewal-plans-approved-to-secure-europes-largest-multi-arts-centre-for-future-generations 
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80j1j55yjlo