Extensive war damage resulted in
discussions on the redevelopment of the Cripplegate area. It
was agreed by the Court of Common Council in 1957 that a
residential development was needed.
The Barbican Estate was officially opened in 1969. Designed and
built for City professionals, the dramatic architecture was the
work of Chamberlain, Powell and Bon.
The intention underlying the design was to create a coherent
residential precinct - a convenient and pleasant environment
affording residents the opportunity to move freely around enjoying
constantly changing perspectives of terraces, lawns, trees and
flowers against the background of buildings or reflected in the
lake.
Read more about the City’s parks, gardens and open spaces
Many of the terrace blocks are raised on columns, a device
employed to give continuity between different parts of the layout
and to avoid what may otherwise have been, in a high density
development, blunt and oppressive enclosures by buildings
forbidding in scale.
The whole Estate has been designed to resemble a small walled
town which helps provide both privacy and protection from
noise.
To offset the high cost of land there is a very dense
concentration of buildings. The Barbican development has a total of
2,018 flats however there is still a considerable sense of openness
due to the skilful use of space. If one takes into account the
various levels of car park space, the podium area, the gardens and
the building space itself, the total pedestrian area of the
Barbican is nearly twice the actual size of the site.
Map of the Estate