Art House Theatres, Barbican Centre London, England Architecture, Photos, Architect

Barbican Centre Cinema

New Cinema in London, UK design by Northern Building Design Associates (NBDA)

post updated 16 Jan 2021 ; 24 Jan 2013

Barbican Centre Art House Theatre

Location: central London, England

Design: Northern Building Design Associates (NBDA)

photo from architect studio

Project Title – The Barbican London

Client – City of London. Lord Major Mr Boris Johnson

Architects & Project Managers – NBDA Ltd

Location – Within the Listed Barbican Centre London

Status – Major structural alteration to facilitate the formation of 2 art house theatres

Construction Period – 2012, opened December 2012

photo from architecture practice

Barbican Centre Cinema information / images from NBDA Ltd

Northern Building Design Associates

Barbican Film: 3 cinema screens with seating capacity of 288, 156 and 156

Address: Silk St, London EC2Y 8DS

Phone: 020 7638 4141

The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions.

Opened: 1982

Opening Hours: 9:00 am – 11:00 pm (check with operator)

Architectural style: Brutalist architecture

The Barbican Centre had a long development period, only opening some years after the surrounding Barbican Estate housing complex had been finished. It is situated in an area which was badly bombed during World War II.

The Barbican Centre, designed by Peter Chamberlin, Geoffry Powell and Christoph Bon of Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the Brutalist style, has a complex multi-level layout with numerous entrances. Lines painted on the ground help would-be audience members avoid getting lost on the walkways of the Barbican Estate, within which the centre is located, on the way to it.

The Barbican Centre’s design – a concrete ziggurat – has always been controversial and divides opinion. It was voted “London’s ugliest building” in a Grey London poll in September 2003.

In 2001 the Barbican Centre complex was given the status of a Grade II listed building by the UK government. It has been designated a site of special architectural interest for its scale, its cohesion and the ambition of the project.

The centre was designed by architectural practice Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, who were also responsible for the Barbican Estate, a dense residential area surrounding the centre, as well as the nearby Golden Lane Estate. Project architect John Honer later worked on the British Library at St Pancras – a brick ziggurat.

Location: Barbican Centre, London, England, UK

Barbican Centre Buildings

Barbican Estate Architecture

London Architecture Designs

Barbican Centre Refurbishment architects office : Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM)

picture of the centre © Adrian Welch

British architects practice Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) has won the Stirling Prize, the UK’s major architecture award. They were commissioned to replace a Barbican ticket desk with a new shop, in 2016. The new shop will be built at the main entrance to the Barbican’s foyers off Silk Street.

In 2013, AHMM completed the first new venue since the Barbican Arts Centre opened in 1982 – the £3.4 million Barbican Cinemas scheme.

Barbican Centre, London – www.barbican.org.uk