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Barbican Towers



Barbican Towers
London, UK

HEIGHT: 123m x 3
FLOORS: 43/42/42 floors
COMPLETION: 1973/1974/1976
ARCHITECT: Chamberlin, Powell & Bon


- In a single night of incendiary bombing on 29th December 1940, every street from Moorgate to Aldersgate Street, covering 35-acres, was destroyed, and by the end of the war more land was cleared to create a huge site that would remain vacant for two decades.

- Numerous proposals for redevelopment were made throughout the 1940s and 1950s, until in 1954 the London County Council proposed a plan combining commercial and residential uses, connected by a system of raised footpaths.

- Chamberlin, Powell & Bon were commissioned to design the Barbican in 1954, and submitted their first proposals in 1955. Outline planning permission was granted in June 1958, and the final scheme was approved by the Court of Common Council on 11th November 1959.

- In total, the Barbican includes 2,014 dwellings, situated in two 43-storey towers, one 42-storey tower, seven 10-storey blocks and one 7-storey block. The complex also includes gardens, a church, two schools and the Barbican Centre, home of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

- The estate was given Grade II listing in 2001 and, residential use aside, is Europe's largest arts and conference venue.

- The buildings of the Barbican complex are treated with a bush-hammered finish.

- The complex was named after a fortified watchtower (or Barbican) which stood in the vacinity and was demolished in 1267.