In August it was announced that London's Blake Tower, the fourth high-rise that completes the brutalist Barbican Estate, was to be converted into 74 luxury residences comprising two and three bedroom apartments, studios and two penthouses. Purpose designed as a youth hostel in 1968 by Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, the Grade II listed, 17-storey block has been empty since 2012 and is now under the ownership of Redrow London, who are working with design studio Conran + Partners on the overhaul.
December saw the unveiling of the first show apartment, which demonstrates how the designers will fuse the building's original brutalist features, such as exposed concrete and pick-and-brush-hammered interior walls, with contemporary brass fittings, light oak floors and a warm colour palette.
Features such as a brass screen in the show apartment's reception and the bespoke terrazzo bathroom vanity units echo the curved shape of the Barbican's distinctive balustrades, while the curved ends of the door handles reference the estate’s renowned central water fountain, Frobisher Crescent.
'We have been inspired by the historical, architectural and cultural characteristics of the Barbican to create a fresh, exciting and crafted design,' says Simon Kincaid, project director at Conran + Partners, who describes the development as a collection of apartments which have ‘a modern heritage'.
'We celebrate and reveal the buildings iconic hammered concrete finish in a controlled manner, giving the apartments authenticity and character,' he continues. 'Kitchen, bathroom and joinery designs include carefully considered materiality and detailing in response to the honest innovative and modernist design principles seen in the Barbican Estate.'
While the show apartment demonstrates a two-bedroom layout, buyers can choose from floorplans that range in size from 450 sq ft to over 2,000 sq ft and that take in impressive views of London’s skyline with the London Eye and the Shard to the south. With architects Harper Downie taking on the refurbishment of the building's exterior, Blake Tower is scheduled for completion this year.
Designed by Conran + Partners, the show apartment demonstrates how the building's original brutalist features, such as exposed concrete and pick-and-brush-hammered interior walls, will be fused with contemporary brass fittings, light oak floors and a warm colour palette
'Kitchen, bathroom and joinery designs include carefully considered materiality and detailing in response to the honest innovative and modernist design principles seen in the Barbican Estate,' says Simon Kincaid, project director at Conran + Partners
INFORMATION
Prices start at £720,000. For more information visit Blake Tower’s website
Photography: Richard John Seymour
-
The Subaru Forester is the definition of unpretentious automotive designIt’s not exactly king of the crossovers, but the Subaru Forester e-Boxer is reliable, practical and great for keeping a low profile
-
Sotheby’s is auctioning a rare Frank Lloyd Wright lamp – and it could fetch $5 millionThe architect's ‘Double-Pedestal’ lamp, which was designed for the Dana House in 1903, is hitting the auction block 13 May at Sotheby's.
-
Naoto Fukasawa sparks children’s imaginations with play sculpturesThe Japanese designer creates an intuitive series of bold play sculptures, designed to spark children’s desire to play without thinking
-
A Medellin house offers art, brutalism and dramaA monumentally brutalist, art-filled Medellin house by architecture studio 5 Sólidos on the Colombian city’s outskirts plays all the angles
-
The best brutalism books to add to your library in 2025Can’t get enough Kahn? Stan for the Smithsons? These are the tomes for you
-
Brutalist bathrooms that bare allBrutalist bathrooms: from cooling concrete flooring to volcanic stone basins, dip into the stripped-back aesthetic with these inspiring examples from around the world
-
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapterSpace House, a landmark of brutalist architecture by Richard Seifert & Partners in London’s Covent Garden, is back following a 21st-century redesign by Squire & Partners and developer Seaforth Land
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist pastA new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Soviet brutalist architecture: beyond the genre's striking imageSoviet brutalist architecture offers eye-catching imagery; we delve into the genre’s daring concepts and look beyond its buildings’ photogenic richness
-
Is Rochester Street Office a creative worker’s dream? Inside a Sydney workspace echoing calmness and lightRochester Street Office by Allied_Office merges utilitarian design with cascading vegetation, presenting a thriving environment for creativity and collaboration
-
‘Brutalist Plants’ is a new monograph capturing the best of eco-brutalism'Brutalist Plants,' the new book by Olivia Broome, captures concrete architecture engulfed with nature
