Five teams have been shortlisted for the City of London Corporation’s £150-million refurbishment of the Barbican Centre.
Photograph by Rain Rabbit/Flickr
The City of London Corporation announced the five shortlisted teams, which combine established and emerging practices, for a major refurbishment of the Brutalist arts centre today.
The shortlist:
- Adjaye Associates, Benedetti Architects and PUP Architects
with Charcoalblue, David Bonnett, DP9, Nigel Dunnett, OneDotZero, Peter Stewart, The Place Bureau, Transsolar, WSP - Allies and Morrison and Asif Khan Studio
with Alan Baxter Ltd, Buro Happold, Charcoalblue, Hood Design Studio, Isaac Julien Studio, les éclaireurs - BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Avanti Architects, and POoR Collective
with Applied, Atelier Ten, Barker Langham, Buro Happold, Charcoalblue, People Friendly Design, Speirs + Major - Diller Scofido + Renfro, McCloy + Muchemwa, and Purcell
with Buro Happold, Charcoalblue, David Bonnett, GROSS. MAX., L’Observatoire, Nagata Acoustics, Nigel Dunnett, North Design, Patrick Burnham OBE, The Young Foundation - FCBStudios (Feilden Clegg Bradley), Bureau de Change, Schulze+Grassov, and Thinc
with AKT II, James Hitchmough, JWE, Max Fordham, Momentum, Nigel Dunnett, Rambol
The shortlisted teams have each been awarded £20,000 and go on to propose a range of design options to suit a budget of £50-£150 million set by the City Corporation, the Barbican Centre’s founder and funder.
The winning team will be appointed in April 2022.
Photograph by Andy Roberts/Flickr
The renovation will focus on upgrading the various art, music, theatre and cinema venues housed within the centre, improving the building’s environmental performance and wayfinding, and finding new purpose for underused areas.
“The Barbican is a much-loved global icon. This project will harness the visionary ambition of the City of London Corporation forty years ago, which chose to build the Centre, and make the venue ready for another four decades, continuing and amplifying the brilliant artistic achievements since then,” said Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Barbican Centre Board, Tom Sleigh.
“Crucially, this project will strengthen the Barbican’s ability to play a leading role in the recovery of the City and the capital from the pandemic.”
