The Barbican Centre - A Brief Analysis

THE BARBICAN CENTRE A BRIEF ANALYSIS | OLIVER BALDOCK

Precedent

study:

The Barbican Arts Centre

Looking at other concert halls.

1

2

3

The Barbican Centre, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the Brutalist style, has a complex multi-level layout with numerous entrances. Located in the City of London, the complex has access to a dedicated underground station served by the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

4

Site Plan of the Barbican Estate

5

Facilities across the scheme

6

Detailed Positioning of the Concert Hall

7

The uses of each sector of the arts centre.

The design of the centre is defined by the shape of the concert hall, yet moving around the space the concert hall is secondary in the space. It’s presence is there, just not consciously.

8

Powell imagined the concert hall would look out on to an Italian street, having a very specific relationship with the surrounding community.

9

10

The aesthetic of the Barbican seems to one of brutal contrasts, the strong use of light reflecting of harsh materials and the creation of an intense atmosphere.

11

12

13

14

15

16