The Barbican estate is a complex which has 2,000 Flats and is in Central London, the estate was built in the reconstruction of Britain after the Second World War.
There was a significant need for more housing in the 50s and 60s. In 1951 the population around where the Barbican is now was tiny the population of the city of London stood out at five thousand (with only 48 living in cripple Gate near the Barbican) and was essentially flattened by the Germans. The Barbican was originally going to be a commercial development; however, instead, it became a residential. The reason for this most likely had to do with the fact that there was almost no one living there. At the time a significant number of people left London and it was only in the last 10 years or so that we've actually come back to the same population levels as we had seen before the Second World War.
The, what some people might call excessive, use of concrete in the Barbican was part of the architectural movement at the time (brutalism, making buildings appear only functional), however, this was not reflected in the interest of the public, and the style was not liked at the time either. Despite this, brutalism has become an increasingly popular form of Architecture perhaps as it becomes more vintage. However, there were significant advantages in building with concrete compared to other materials at the time. Remember this was a country that was reeling from its wounds during the Second World War. The main advantage was that it was much cheaper than other materials, another advantage was that there was it was faster to build and the last advantage was that the architects liked it so haha never mind everyone had to deal with it.
Now despite the history of the Barbican being relatively modern, the word Barbican goes further back. it just means a fortified outpost or gateway. However, which language is it from could be either Arabic, Persian or Latin; so no one knows. The Barbican stands very close to where the older Roman wal used to be. Even to this day you can go and walk and see the remnants of the London Wall.
As this part of London has been a fortification for a long time, a lot has been borrowed from medieval castle aesthetics in the estate. This can be seen throughout the Barbican with very narrow windows similar to the 'arrow loops' you get in a castle such as Caernarfon. So while it is, according to some people, a very ugly and newfangled building with no connection to history, actually there are nods to London's old heritage.
The Barbican began construction in 1965 and was finished in 1976. Despite its completion in 1976, the first people welcomed into flats was in 1969. The Barbican Estate is 40 acres in size. Since 2001 the Barbican has been rated as a grade II listed building.
What is interesting about the Barbican is that despite the fact that the brutalist style at the time was associated with the new left-wing policies put in by the Labour government, the Barbican has always been, and still is a private enterprise. Yet, the Barbican has many similarities with state-run estates which used Brutalist architecture. There is a school, a library and you have the Barbican art centre which was similar to brutalist estates in other parts such as Sheffield which itself boasted shops under the apartments.
Lessons from the Barbican: are there any to be gained? While the architecture is perhaps not to everyone's taste there are several benefits that could be used and emulated by other parts of London or the UK. The quick access to local amenities - such as the Barbican Centre - and also education, such as the school in the Barbican and the library, are probably things we want to copy in other parts of London. The Barbican Estate also has minimal use of cars. You can walk around the whole estate without getting into a car, you can just walk around all of it; it's great.
Do you think the Barbican is a story of success?
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