Barbican Living
Ventilation
"The density of development means that the external walls of the building must be reserved for living accommodation and the kitchens and bathrooms are all planned internally to be mechanically ventilated."
Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, Architects "Barbican Redevelopment" April 1959
Mechanical ventilation
In the majority of flats, the kitchen, bathroom and toilet are mechanically ventilated. It’s what they call a forced extraction system. Generally, the ventilation will be under the Corporation’s control but in some cases (usually flats at 02 level) the mechanical ventilation will be under your control from a switch in the kitchen fascia panel (unless the units have been changed by previous owners). You should not interfere with this or have the system closed off without consent since it can affect the overall ventilation of the building.
The Barbican Estate Office state that "some smells are simply attributable to community living". The ventilation system is designed to extract 20 litres per second from bathrooms, and 60 litres per second from kitchens, and this operates 24 hours a day. This sounds like an amazing amount of air to shift in a second. What I find absolutely mystifying though is that, where a separate WC exits, the extract rate is only 7 litres per second. Someone really should have explained to the City that smells related to time spent reading back copies of the Reader's Digest produces a more urgent ventilation problem than any amount of “community living”. Anyway, the system is designed to clear smells as quickly as possible, and there is a fan in the kitchen to boost the extract rate to 90 L per second during the "usual" cooking times of mourning, at midday, and evenings. I can confirm its efficiency. It regularly clears the garlic-laden cooking smells of one of my neighbours out of their flat and into mine.
A few flats have no central ventilation system. Instead they have a 2-speed extractor unit through the wall to the outside.
Cleaning
Cleaning of the ventilation system is carried out every so often by the Corporation workforce. There’s a mortise lock in the ventilation duct in the kitchen of most flats (the utility room in Tower Block flats). Don’t open them because it could adversely affect the ventilation of several flats. The Barbican Estate advises that ventilation grills in bathrooms and toilets should be brushed clean at intervals to maintain the efficiency of the ventilation and should not be covered up. They are not adjustable.
Window ventilators
The sliding ventilators above the windows are cord-operated, except for a small section which is permanently open.
