Barbican Living

Barretts Solicitors' guide to the Barbican Estate. You should use us. We really know the Barbican.
 

The Barbican estate is built

In 1963 the scheme ran into a technical problem. The London County Council had recently passed bye-laws requiring all kitchens to have windows or equivalent ventilation. The Barbican kitchens had deliberately been built without windows. Many did not ventilation. A deal was struck. What had previously been called kitchens, became ‘cooking areas’ and part of the living room, for the purpose of the regulations, and they were passed by the London County Council.

Work on the buildings began in 1963. The Barbican terraces blocks and towers were built over the period from 1964 to 1975. The construction of the Barbican Arts Centre came later - it was not completed until 1982. In a sense, the Barbican has never been completed. Frobisher Crescent was not fitted out. Its kitchens and bathrooms, ready to be installed, are still in storage, and it has been used as a business school for much of its life.

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