To address urgent repairs, the Barbican Centre in London has made renovation plans worth $240 million, starting in 2027.
Founded in 1982 in the city of London, the Barbican Centre has been a premier hub for performative arts in the city. Its brutalist architecture also made it stand apart from the Victorian architecture of many other London museums. However, it now finds itself in need of some urgent redressals. Perhaps the most high-risk is the glass-paneled roof over the Barbican’s conservatory. The vast, 2300-square-foot glass roof is at the risk of caving in at any moment. Authorities have put safety nets below it to catch the shards, but it still needs serious repairs. The conservatory houses around 1800 species of temperate, tropical,l and subtropical plants.
The Barbican Centre also plans to address many other structural issues. The huge underground basement of the museum houses old pipes, control panels, and water tanks – all in need of immediate replacement. One of the existing staircases might be removed to make way for an elevator, along with the addition of more toilets – all to improve accessibility for visitors. The lake outside the Barbican would also be repaved because its water has started to leak into the Metropolitan Metro functioning underground.
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The Barbican Centre has detailed an extensive renovation plan which could cost upwards of $240 million. It is now seeking approval from the City of London Corporation which would provide the majority of the funds needed. If approved, the renovation would begin in 2027. The renovation plans come at the heels of a major reshuffle of Barbican’s leadership last year.
