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With all its art exhibitions, film screenings, theatre performances and brutalist beauty, millions of people visit the labyrinthine Barbican every year. Millions more will visit in years to come, but in order to protect the place for future generations, the 40-year-old building is in need of a pretty big facelift. Now, plans to revitalise the Barbican Centre have officially been given the green light.
Earlier this month, the City of London Corporation approved the big ‘Barbican Renewal’ delivery plan. The corporation is providing a £191 million funding package to upgrade the landmark, which is around 80 percent of the overall £240m needed for the first five-year phase of the project. The rest will be raised through a Barbican fundraising campaign.
The bad news is that to make way for work to go ahead, the main Barbican site will shut from June 2028 until June 2029. Its beloved plant-filled conservatory will close a little earlier in 2027. It’ll be worth it, though.
Some of the work has already begun and the theatre will undergo essential works for three months in January, but major upgrades are due to start in 2027. The first phase of the project will see the building’s brutalist foyers, lakeside terrace and conservatory all ‘sensitively restored and enhanced’.
Right now, people can only visit the Barbican Conservatory during select times from Friday to Sunday. However, when it reopens, the centre plans to open its greenhouse to the public on a daily basis.
On top of that, there’ll be improvements to the inclusivity and accessibility of the building, with a new multi-faith room, increased bathroom provision, improved wayfinding and full accessibility to the conservatory (which currently only has narrow walkways and lots of steps). There will also be essential safety and security work carried out, like replacing electrical systems to improve energy consumption and removing asbestos.
The cinemas along Beech Street will remain open over the construction period, and the Barbican will still programme events elsewhere in the city with partners like the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company.
Philippa Simpson, Barbican Director for buildings and renewal, said: ‘This is a defining moment for the Barbican. Today’s approval gives us the confidence and certainty we need to deliver essential upgrades for generations to come. The Barbican rose from the ruins of a bomb site nearly 50 years ago, and in summer 2029 we will embrace that same spirit of optimism – renewed, revitalised, and ready for the future.’
It’s hoped that the renewal will be complete before the Barbican’s 50th birthday in 2032.
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