London’s Barbican Centre Booked In for a £450m Facelift

London Follow +

London‘s Barbican Centre is estimated to require more than £450 million for ‘essential work’ according to site owners, the City of London Corporation.

Set to begin in 2027, the repairs and changes include improvements to accessibility (additional toilets and elevators), visitors’ experience (change in lighting, added fountains and seating), and sustainability (repaving the lake side area to prevent water from leaking into the Metropolitan underground line, among others).

Plans for a new, 2000-seat concert hall were scrapped over costs.

The Brutalist arts centre is ‘one of the nation’s most-admired post-war buildings’, a spokesperson for the city council said. ‘However, it is now over 40 years old and, like all buildings, requires ongoing investment.’

In 2023, the city of London committed £25 million to start the first phase of repairs. They pledged an additional £191 million last December for upgrades to the Grade II-listed venue, which will be carried out over the next five years.

Together, the funds account for 80 percent of the estimated costs for the project’s first phase, with the city fundraising the rest.

Barbican Centre CEO Claire Spencer said without further funding, the Barbican could no longer run as an arts centre.

The matter was a contested topic in discussing city fund allocation, a deputy at the City of London Corporation said at the Finance Committee meeting last February.

The figure is an early estimate from a consultant and will be spread over the next 20 to 25 years. The project’s next stage is set to be revealed this May. —[O]

Main image: Lakeside Terrace, Barbican Centre, London. Courtesy Barbican Centre. Photo: Dion Barrett.