London’s famous Barbican Centre is going to close for a year as it undergoes a £240 million renovation

Time for a glow up

View of the world famous Barbican Centre, in the City of London on October 22, 2017. The Barbican Estate is a brutalist architecture residential estate built during the 1960s and the 1970s within the City of London in Central London, in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and today densely populated by financial institutions. It also hosts a conservatory which contains several plants, and a luxury tea room
(Image credit: Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Everyone loves looking forward to a big anniversary – a wee bit of celebration if you will. And you may think candles, cake, presents, music, a party. The Barbican is doing things a little differently; to celebrate its upcoming 50th anniversary in 2032, it will be undergoing a £240 million renovation that will kick off in 2028.

The Barbican Centre - a hub to the arts - will be shut for a full year from June 2028, as the renovations hope to secure the iconic building for the future.

The multi-million pound renewal programme addresses decades of wear and tear on the Grade II listed site, and has all been approved by the City of London Corporation. Opening back in 1982, the site welcomes some 1.5 million visitors every year – so getting a little run down is to be expected, really.

Inside the Barbican Centre conservatory on the 12th September 2019 in London in the United Kingdom. (photo by Sam Mellish / In Pictures via Getty Images)

(Image credit: Sam Mellish / Getty Images)

One aim of the renovations, alongside repairing and conserving the site, is to focus on sustainability, which includes a 40% reduction in its carbon footprint.

Being a fairly big project (although not quite George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces level) work will take place in three stages, beginning with theatre adaptations in January 2026, followed by major construction in 2027, leading up to the site’s full closure in June 2028. The conservatory will be shutting a bit earlier in 2027 while its Beech Street cinemas stay open, and residential access remains uninterrupted.

As anyone who has watched Grand Designs will know, a fixed completion date is rarely adhered to, so the Barbican has wisely set completion targets instead, aiming to have the renovations finished by 2032 to tie in with its anniversary.

Enhancements are expected to improve the Barbican’s foyers, lighting, art, terrace, conservatory accessibility, directions, a free public garden, and a multi-faith room. The conservatory refresh is being led by Harris Bugg Studio.

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Hermione Blandford
Hermione Blandford
Content Editor

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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