Barbican Living
Description of Shakespeare Tower
Shakespeare Tower (completed in February 1976) stands in the centre of the development, near to the Arts Centre. It is 44 storeys high (consisting of garage level, podium level, 40 storeys of flats and 2 of penthouses). It contains 113 large flats and 3 penthouse maisonettes. It featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest residential building in Europe for many years.
Shakespeare Tower stands in the south podium. The north podium (which is a few meters higher to take account of the slight slope of the Barbican site overall) runs at its back and, in fact, there is an entrance to Shakespeare Tower from Beech Gardens on the north podium as well.
At the south podium level, it faces onto Defoe Place, which is the wide concourse which theatre and concert goers use to reach the Arts Centre from Barbican tube station.
The thousands who walk past Shakespeare Tower do not seem attracted by the Pintxos wine bar which takes up most of the tower's ground floor. The impossible name and the awful motorway-diversion-type sign it's painted on, and the miserable lighting, would make anyone decide to keep on walking and make a cheese sandwich when they get home.
Round the other side of the tower, is the Central Services Office, with its helpful staff, who can sort out flat problems and point you in the right direction for services from outside contractors.
