Barbican Living
Description of Frobisher Crescent
'Frobisher Crescent helps to relate, because of its non-directional plan, the converging axes of north and south Barbican'. Well anyway that’s what Chamberlin Powell & Bon, the architects, said. Frobisher has been a bit of a disappointment in several ways. The semi-circle of Frobisher Crescent looks down on what is called “the Sculpture Court,” behind the Arts Centre. But there are no sculptures. That alone probably makes it a contender for the Whitbread Prize.
Below podium level, the architects designed a shopping arcade to follow the curve of the Arts Centre. But there are no shops. It never took off as a shopping precinct and nowadays the lower corridor is mainly used as offices by the Arts Centre.
So that leaves the flats of Frobisher Crescent. No sculptures, no shops - and no flats. Frobisher Crescent was designed to have 3 rows of maisonettes on 6 storeys. But someone lost their nerve. In fact, the kitchens and other appliances were never fitted and still lie in storage. During most of its history, Frobisher Crescent has been occupied by the City of London Business School. If you stand in the empty sculpture court and look up, what you see instead of windows, are rows of louvred wooden shutters. You only need the distant howl of a wolf to complete the picture of a sad abandoned building. The sooner they get rid of the school and bring Frobisher Crescent back to life with flats, the better.
