Sam Baker BUIL/1166 Barbican study
barbican
Barbican history
During the Second World War the area of Cripplegate was heavily bombed and virtually demolished, by 1951 there were only 48 recorded residents. In 1952 discussions began about the future of the site and in 1957 it was agreed that new residential properties should be built. The Barbican centre was designed by Geoffry Powell, a teacher at Kingston School of Architecture along with two other teachers, Peter Chamberlain and Christof Bon. The main concept behind the Barbican was to create complete inner city residential communities as an alternative to the more common garden suburbs. The Barbican was built in 5 phases between 1963 and 1976; the arts centre was not finished until 1981, due to the long period between the site’s design and when it was actually built the Barbican’s Brutalist style began to show signs of the Post Modernist style. The housing on the estate consists mainly of 6-story blocks of flats and 3 high rise towers. The residential areas are connected by a ‘highwalk’ which helps to isolate the residents from the rush of the city. The facade of the building reflects both the widespread use of concrete during the 60s and 70s and the Brutalists style of predominant concrete surfaces.
The city of London Corporation planned to transform the devastated area into a modernised suburban housing estate. The plan would include residential housing, schools and gardens.
introduction
A later addition to the plans was the idea to include an arts centre in the construction of the Barbican. The centre was not opened until 1982.
Having visited the Barbican it is clear that there is a stark contrast with the surrounding buildings, the Brutalist style dominates the area in a bold way, although it was voted London ugliest building in 2003 it is the very embodiment of Brutalism, all sharp corners and cold facade. In a way I admire the way the building is both ugly and beautiful from a variety of perspectives, from the outside the building can appear cold and uninviting but once inside or on the terrace a sort of hidden beauty is revealed. The way the various public terraces make use of light, water and plants gives the sense of great transitions despite only having turned a corner or climbed a stair. All in all I quite enjoyed the experience of the Barbican’s architecture although I found most of the interiors more appealing than the façades of the building. That said, the huge variety of materials used on the various buildings of the estate give everyone an opportunity to find an area of the Barbican that appeals to them whether inside or out. Although its concrete facade may make it infamous there are many different materials used well in different areas of the estate.
introduction
The image above shows the first conceptualisation of the entrance to the Barbican arts centre, although the design has changed from its original idea there are still very clear similarities between the first concept and the final design. An addition not shown here is the greenhouse conservatory that was later added to the plans. The Barbican Centre is a collection of public and private areas. The main Barbican arts centre is shown on the general arrangement as the dark green area, this is where the library and main theatre is found. The dark blue areas of the arrangement show the housing on the estate, as shown the majority of the Barbican centre is residential areas. The idea behind the Barbican was to create a secluded environment in which one could escape the bustle of the city, in this way it was successful, when standing on the fountain terrace of the Barbican it is easy to imagine that you are not in a city at all The key to the general arrangement is as follows: Residential areas are highlighted in dark blue Amenity areas are highlighted in pink Private Garden areas highlight in light green The Barbican Arts Centre is highlighted in dark green The red border represents the extent of the Barbican estate. References: barbicanliving.co.uk Culture Label
air
The image to the left is an interpretation of the heat radiating off of the various façades inside the Barbican Arts Centre. Blue represents the cooler areas of the building and red represents the warmer areas.
Above are two diagrams demonstrating how the underfloor heating in the Barbican residential areas works. The top image is an example of the underfloor heating installed in the residential areas of the Barbican. Firstly cables are laid and then a mesh similar to chicken wire is laid over the cables. The cables rest on a layer of insulated ethylene propylene material. 70% of the emitted heat is released upwards into the flat and the remaining 30% is transmitted downwards. On the ground floor the thickness of the screed is increased to save energy. The second image shows a section of the floor in the Barbican residential area. As mentioned above, the layer of quilting can be seen below the chicken wire and the screed is also clearly shown. The heating is automatically switched on and off with heating between the 1st of October and 30th of April. The benefits of underfloor heating are numerous, although in my opinion one of the primary reasons for choosing underfloor heating is that it isn’t visible, the Barbican is a building focusing on aesthetics and underfloor heating removes the need for unattractive radiators around the arts centre and housing.
Above is a section through the Barbican Arts Centre. The areas highlighted in red represent the warmer movements of air within the main hall of the Barbican Centre. The areas highlighted in blue are representative of the colder movements of air in the centre. As warm air rises it builds up under each floor creating warm pockets of air on each level. Also shown just above the floor is a low level of warmed air created by the underfloor heating and the retention of heat within the floor.
The two images to the left are representative of the air movements within a flat in the residential are of the Barbican. In the first image the arrows indicate my interpretation of the heat moving around the flat. This flat specifically is a type 98, found in Willoughby House. Of all the types of flats, I found this one most interesting due to its three levels. Due to the three levels the heat movement is considerably different than a single level room. As hot air rises it travels up through the flat, the greatest loss of heat is through the two outer walls at either end of the flat. In the second image the arrows represent the presumed movement of air and heat within the block. The greatest amount of heat would be lost through the external walls and windows, this is shown on the plan drawing. The greatest movement of air would be between the two levels of the flat. In 2001 the Barbican hall underwent a huge renovation, during the renovation the air conditioning systems and acoustics of the hall were greatly improved. To improve the acoustics of the room acoustic reflectors were fitted to the rear of the hall, while the reflectors were being fitted the entire hall was modernised and fitted with an improved air conditioning system. Due to the underfloor heating and the way that air moved around the building the concert hall had an overheating problem when the seating was filled. On top of this, the acoustics of the hall were built to a standard that was acceptable in 1981 but could be vastly improved upon in the modern day. The image to the right shows the source of the acoustics and the radiation of sound across the hall from these sources.
air
The image below is a still from a video created by the artist Rob Chavasse. Chavasse is an experienced user of ‘Caedium’ a fluid dynamics program that visualises the movements of liquids or air over or through structures. As part of his exhibition ‘Off Modern’ Chavasse created the video referenced below. The video uses part of the Barbican as a base and shows how air moves through the building. The larger arrows represent a more forceful movement of air within the building.
References: barbicanliving.co.uk barbican.org.uk Culture Label Off Modern - Rob Chavasse
The image to the left shows how I would imagine the air flows around the oculus of the main hall. Although the ceiling skylights are well insulated there is always air escaping around windows and even if air is not escaping heat is. The warmer air rises through the heated floor and through the oculus until it reaches the skylight. The heat then radiates through the windows.
air
This map shows the pollution level of the air around the Barbican estate. The pollution rating ranges from 1, a low rating, to 10, a high rating, this shows that the air around the Barbican has a relatively high pollution level.
air
Part of the Barbicans conception was to create an area of space that was removed from the city as a greater whole, this was achieved in two ways, one way was that the brutalist architecture was uncommon in England at the time it was being made and two is that the Barbican has been built in a way that restricts the sound movements of the city. The high walls and straight facings work as a reflective surface for the sound produced by traffic and the public areas.
air
air
This image visualises the carbon emissions of the Barbican over the course of a year, as shown the Barbican has a considerably lower carbon emission than the surrounding buildings, this is particularly impressive as the Barbican is a larger building than some of those surrounding it but still maintains low emission levels, on top of that this rating has been achieved in a building that is far older than many of the surrounding built up areas.
light
A south and a west elevation of the Barbican Centre showing how the shadows form during the day. Although not stated, I would suggest that these shadows are cast at around midday as they fall in the same place as they did at 12 during my last site visit.
A photo overlooking the fountain terrace showing the shadow line at 12 o’clock. As mentioned above the shadows seem to match the shadows shown on the elevation drawings.
The images above are representative of the ceiling plan in the main hall of the Barbican centre. The crosses on the ceiling plan equate to the light meter readings above (reading left to right, 1-9). As can be seen from the light meter readings the lighting in the Barbican is generally consistent throughout the hall. The shaded areas on the plan are the pillars in the main hall.
A plan view of the shadows projected by the Barbican Centre during the equinox. From left to right they show 9am, noon, 3pm.
These images depict the path the sun took around the Barbican on the equinox, the time when night and day are of equal lengths, in this sense the image should give an idea of the average sun path.
light
Just off of the main entrance to the Barbican there is an oculus. The oculus sits on the second level part way along the main walkway. The images show how both natural and artificial light are used to light the entrance hall and lower floor. During the day the platform directly below the oculus is entirely lit by the light coming from the skylight. During the late afternoon and evening the suspended lights just below the skylight and the ring of lights around the underside of the oculus light the area.
light
The various walkways in the Barbican use light in a very forceful way. For example the lighting on the left is blue, an unnecessary choice but by being blue it becomes far more noticeable than using the ordinary white or yellow light. In a similar way the use of the mirror on the right image turns an ordinary walkway into something more noticeable. Both examples show a way of bringing the ceiling to a more noticeable plain, something usually overlooked in most architecture. The next page shows that there is a wide variety of different light fixtures in the Barbican centre, a use of colour is a common factor that I have noticed in the more public areas. In my opinion the different styles of light fixture are reflective of the area in which they are found. For example the first image shows lighting for the highwalks, the lighting is practical and constant. Outside of the toilets the lighting is far more discrete and there is a lower level of lighting. In the area below the main area of congregation there is a quieter area that seems to be used as a study or reading space, the lighting here is intense and covers the whole area consistently. The last image shows a view of the lighting through an oculus. The oculus is in the centre of a bar, as such the lighting is far more garish and engaging.
An odd use of light that I noticed while exploring the Barbican Centre. The spotlight is focused specifically on the signage but seemed unnecessary bright for the area it was in. Considering that I was seeing it in the day and found it overly bright I would be curious to see it during the night. It looks as though it might be used as a way of highlighting the entrance to the main Barbican highwalk.
light
light
A lighting plan showing the distribution of fixtures around the Barbican Centre.
light
The image above shows my interpretation of how the shadows fall through the doors of the main terrace entrance.
Another area I found interesting in the Barbican was just off of the main entrance hall, there are ten sheets of thick glass bundled up against a pillar, from the look of the tracks across the cieling I can sumise that they are used as a way of dividing off a section of the hall or perhaps for blocking access. What interested me about the use of glass is that it doesn’t convey the idea of blocking something off, usually you want the blocked off area to be inaccessible but by using glass that effect is somewhat lost as people can still see inside the area.
ground
The site of the Barbican Centre is primarily London clay, the problem with London clay is that it doesn’t provide a particularly stable base for large structures, to overcome this it is necessary to use ‘under-reamed bored piles’. This method involves drilling a deep hole to a certain depth until a more stable soil is found, for the Barbican the holes were drilled up to 18 meters deep. Once the drill reaches the needed depth it carves out a ‘bell’ near the end of the hole. The drill is then retracted from the hole and a reinforcement is dropped into the hole, concrete is then poured into the hole until filled. The exposed reinforcement is then used as the support for the structure. In the case of the Barbican a 3 meter deep layer of ballast was added on top of the London clay. ‘Normally, buildings up to 15 storeys high could be supported on cast in situ piles in the London Clay. The high tower blocks are too heavy for ordinary piled foundations and will have to be supported on cylindrical caissons with enlarged bases or on deep ‘floating’ rafts sunk into the London Clay, or on combined raft and caissan foundations.’ --- Chamberlin, Powell & Bon ---
ground
The concrete used for the façades of the Barbican was the cause for much debate during its conception. The original idea was to follow the brutalist style and leave the concrete with wood grains from the on-site moulds. The architects moved on from this idea and decided that to create a bright building reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s designs they would use a white aggregate to the mix to give the building a bold white form. Unfortunately the aggregate would weather badly in the UK so it couldn’t be used. Another idea was to tile the exterior with white marble but it was decided that it would be too expensive to tile the entire structure in white marble. Ultimately Welsh granite was mixed into the concrete but the architects were still unhappy with the result. The final decision was to use pneumatic drills to texture the concrete and give it a stone-like finish. Ironically this pick hammered ‘decorated’ concrete goes very much against the brutalist style and I would say it is the influence of the postmodernist movement that has inspired this choice. The image above shows an example of the concrete used in the final building, this style is uncommon for a brutalist building. Below is an example of how concrete is usually used in brutalist architecture but was not implemented for the Barbican centre. When the concrete is mixed it is poured into a wooden mould to make the desired shape, when dried the concrete retains the texture of the wood and this is a common style found in brutalist architecture.
The use of the brickwork in the Barbican was a very thought out decision. Beyond just aesthetics, philosophical considerations were taken into account on choosing the surface. The tiles are an earthy colour to aid in the visual transition between the stone grey of the building and the natural colours of the surrounding trees and plants. Even the texture has been considered, it is supposed to be representative of the transition between the natural and man-made environments of the Barbican Centre.
Above is a soil survey of London, from the image it is clear that the Barbican Centre is located in an area of acidic soil.
References: confessionsofadesigngeek.com City of London Soil Survey
ground
The four images to the left show a London earth survey. In order from top to bottom the surveys show the concentration of Calcium, Iron, Lead, Nickle. From the information shown in the maps it can be assumed that the Barbican rests on an area of high Calcium and Lead concentration.
The above image is a still from a video showing the concentration of lead in London. The darker areas of red represent a higher concentration of lead.
The image above shows that the Barbican makes use of large areas of garden landscape as amenity space. The only accessible area is beside the lake terrace and is overlooked by the residential areas.
The above image shows the bedrock geology of London and surrounding areas. The survey shows that the Barbican would be located on a river terrace deposit of sand and gravel.
References: London Earth Survey
mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/londonearth/londonearth.html
ground
The Barbican has a wide variation in its landscaping due to the limited space available on the ground level. Above the ground floor there are areas of garden space. Although the concrete has a way of making the garden space look unhealthy, in the right lighting it can hugely enhance the space.
The lake in the centre of the Barbican was put in place as a way of air conditioning the site. The water runs from a cascade in the residential section and flows through the Barbican and then falls over a weir and continues towards the City of London School. The pumps have to provide water to the waterfall, fountains and the weir. Originally the pumps were located in various buildings around the lake but they have since been replaced with submerged pumps which can be operated separately to supply water where it is needed. Originally there were 42 fountains but there are far fewer now. The fountains, both above and below the water level, serve as aeration for the lake and oxygenate the water. This allows fish and plant-life to survive in and around the lake.
water
A survey of the existing sewers below the Barbican centre, 8000 foot belongs to the Corporation of London and 1300 feet of sewer line is the property of London County Council. After conferring with a city engineer the plan was amended to show the redundant sewers and a proposal for new sewer lines to be added. An image of a ‘Garchey unit’ and the associated layout within the Barbican centre. The Garchey system is used as a way of disposing of refuse, various forms of refuse are collected in the bulb shaped bin and drenched with water in order to compact the waste. When full the bin empties into the gravity stack and the refuse flushes down to the collection chamber where it awaits collection for later disposal. The second image shows the layout of the Garchey system mains and the collection chamber. The Garchey system in the Barbican is one of only three such systems in England and as such has been documented in detail. There are 150 waste collection pits below the Barbican that also collect rain water as a way of removing the need for a rainwater system. The pits must not be air or water tight otherwise there is a risk of waste blow back. The pits are connected below the Barbican with around 2 miles of piping and all link back to the main collection chamber.
References: BAC 1989 barbicanliving.co.uk
water
The highwalks in the Barbican have a slight camber that causes rainwater to flow into the drainage gulleys at each side of the pathway.
water
energy
The lighting on the podiums are controlled by photo electric cells that switch the lights on at dusk and off in the morning. At midnight a time switch reduces lighting to one fitting in every 23 meters of pedestrian route. Fixtures over main entrances and areas of shadow remain active.
An efficiency evaluation for the Barbican centre, for such a large building it is clear that care is taken to keep the building at the more efficient end of the spectrum. It would also seem that the energy rating is improving with time, possibly due to advancing technology and renewing the older parts of the structure. The Barbican was built at a time when energy was cheap and as such what was appropriate at the time of construction quickly became an inefficient system. The residential areas of the Barbican utilise underfloor heating, the problem with the system was that residents had very little control over the internal temperatures of their rooms, the heating would remain on with or without a person in the room and regardless of whether or not the windows were open. This created an obvious issue of energy inefficiency. In 2011 a group of residents began working together conducting a residential survey which revealed some insights into the behaviours of tenants. The survey revealed that as many as 89% of the tenants used the windows as a way of regulating the temperature, this alarming information prompted an awareness campaign to encourage residents to find an alternative to wasting the energy. The campaign was a success and energy wastage dropped drastically. The latest news from the Barbican is that their ‘favourable’ heating electricity contract with a large energy supplier is coming to an end in early 2014, which has forced the building owners, the City of London Corporation, to seek alternatives. And, pleasingly, they have asked the Barbican residents to join a working group to investigate options for future supply.
recycle
Materials recycled at the Barbican: Card Paper Cans Plastic Glass Toner Cartridges Mobile Phones Batteries CDs & DVDs Cooking Oil Fluorescent bulbs WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Food waste
Above is a map of the Barbican Centre highlighting the waste disposal facilities along with a key of items that can be recycled at each location. As a leading events centre it is important that the Barbican strives to improve its waste management systems. Millions of people visit the Barbican each year and the waste generated was creating an incredibly inefficiently handled problem. As a result an overhaul was needed. To combat the waste produced by the visitors, the Barbican introduced a recycling system in the area of greatest congregation. A follow-up to the recycling bins was to create a food waste composting program, this program has resulted in almost 100% of food waste being composted. To further minimise waste a new ‘Bin the Bin’ policy was introduced which removed desk-side bins within the office spaces and provided the offices with recycling centres that would better filter waste from recyclable materials. Other recycling initiatives that have been implemented in the Barbican are as follows:
The Barbican has a very good recycling scheme, although it is a very renown building and as such it would be expected to have reasonable recycling facilities, the Barbican is able to accomodate a wider range of materials than most buildings of a similar size.
Waste Minimisation Reuse Reducing waste contamination Print double-sided Lost property to Red Cross No plastic cups/plates Stationary reuse Mains water UV system for dispensers Pallets removed Litter swept daily Furniture passed on Old bins donated to Hackney Scrap Project
Recycling bins in public area Signage and information at recycling points Staff to collect recycling and report contamination
References: barbicanliving.co.uk Barbican Tenant Manual WYbone
synthesis
The Barbican Centre is commonly referred to as one of London’s ugliest buildings, at face value I can understand why people think this as my first impression of the Barbican was of the same opinion. Having extensively researched the building from its conception to the present day I would say that my and many others first impressions of the building were unwarranted. Although brutalist architecture is not something I usually enjoy, the Barbican has found the correct balance of brutalism and modernism. Researching into the buildings properties have given me an insight that it is not apparent on first appearances. My main interest in the Barbican would be the properties of the lighting and the way that the different fixtures are implemented, at first appearance the lighting seems to be a garish way of overcoming the cold properties of the concrete walls, however after spending time at the site and investigating the area I have a new appreciation of the way the light works within the building. It functions as more than just a way of lighting the room, instead it works as a way of categorising the type of room and the lighting is reflective of the rooms purpose. For example, the Martini bar has bright colourful lighting above it and the materials in the surrounding area are smooth and brightly coloured, while the areas around the toilets are lit with discrete fixtures and dull coloured material. Aside from the materials used in the Barbican, the measures taken to improve the buildings energy efficiency and create an eco-friendly estate are impressive for a building of its size. Due to the age of the building and the time it was conceived it should be a fairly inefficient building but because it has constantly strived to be better the Barbican has an increasing energy efficiency rating and there are plans to further improve upon it in future. On top of the good energy rating there is also a large recycling scheme in place that encourages both residents and members of the public to take better care of their surroundings. I would say that without its concrete exterior, eccentrically lighted halls and the fountain terrace the Barbican would be nothing more than another generic block. Even if the elements that make the Barbican great were separately implemented it wouldn’t create the same atmosphere that Chamberlin, Powell and Bon have so masterfully envisioned. The modernist influence in the Barbican is subtle but adds to the building in such a way that the Barbican will forever be renowned. In essence the components of the building work together in such a brilliant way that it has gone from being one of my least favourite buildings to one of my favourites.
conclusion
The Barbican Centre is a building built ahead of its time and striving to keep ahead of the curve. Although not liked by many for its peculiar aesthetics, the properties of the Barbican have given it an almost surreal personality, as a building conceived in the 1950s it is amazing that the centre has adapted so well to changing times. One of the things I found most impressive was that the Barbican’s energy rating is improving over the years, considering it was built at a time before global warming was an issue and energy supply was a concern, its amazing that the energy rating of the building is showing an increase in efficiency over the years. The change that I would implement in the Barbican would be focused around increasing the efficiency of the building to the point that it becomes carbon neutral, although it’s unlikely this would ever be achievable it could create a very powerful message that changes made to old buildings can cause them to outlive their predecessors. My main interest would be to use the large surface area of the roofing and convert it to photovoltaic tiling. I have produced a simple render to show how I think this could idea could be put into place. The main issue would be the changed aesthetic of the building, however I feel that as a building that embraces the future it could become grander as a result.