Barbican Living
Description of Lauderdale Tower
Lauderdale Tower (completed in October 1974) is a triangular tower at the junction of Beech Street and Aldersgate Street, opposite Barbican Underground Station. It is the westernmost of the three Barbican Towers. It can be reached from Beech Street. The ground floor for Lauderdale Tower is street level, not podium level.
It is 44 storeys high (garage level, podium level, 40 storeys of flats and 2 of penthouses). It contains 114 flats and 3 penthouse maisonettes of similar design and layout to the flats and penthouses in Cromwell Tower.
There is a foyer at podium level with a porter at a reception desk. Beyond is a triangular lift lobby with 3 high speed passenger lifts. The flats themselves are arranged on each floor in 3's. Flats on the higher floor levels have unparalleled views of London.
The forecourt surrounding Lauderdale tower is Lauderdale Place, where you will find 'Crispins', the Barbican’s only shop, tucked into the ground floor of Lauderdale tower. Round the back, Lauderdale Place is a bit like a set from Planet of the Apes. There are a series of long-abandoned rocket silos with bushes growing out of them. Hidden from view, is 'Cissors Palace' (Is there some law that hairdressing salons can only open if they have an awful pun as the name? You never see chemists with daft names).
In front of Lauderdale Tower itself, a few attractive-looking wooden tubs with creepers and flowers growing in them have been placed. Someone should move them so that lorries can't get in and damage the forecourt surface.
