The Barbican, Britain's most famous brutalist building and one of Europe's largest functioning multi-arts and conference venues, was created to reflect a new type of inner city utopia and at the same time reconstruct a large part of central London, which was destroyed during the war.
The world-class complex, designed in the late 1950s by young architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, spent 10 years in construction until its grand opening in 1982. The centre has since been given a Grade II listing and cemented its reputation as a cultural and architectural British icon.
In its early years, the Barbican's first director, Henry Wrong commissioned photographer Peter Bloomfield to record the stages of construction of the complex. Bloomfield's comprehensive photo collection - just recently gifted to the Barbican arts centre - consists of over 1,400 negatives, which intricately document the late construction stages of the Barbican, and its completion.
'During my first visits to the site, I witnessed the building emerging from raw concrete to a beautifully textured finish with the help of a number of jackhammers, clouds of dust, and a lot of sweat', says Bloomfield, reflecting on his experience on site.
This rediscovered archive forms a new 96-page tome, published by the Barbican and titled Building the Brutal. The book includes more than 70 colour, as well as black and white images that cover different aspects of the build, most of which have never been released to the public before.
The evocative photographs document everything; from the first events held at the complex, to workers hand-finishing the famous textured walls, and the impressive moment, when trees were craned into the on-site conservatory.
All imagery can be explored on a newly launched website or within the pages of the printed book, which comes with a foreword by Jane Alison, Barbican Head of Visual Arts and includes a separate feature on the photographer. The publication is now available for pre-order and will be in store from mid-March.
Further imagery from 1981 shows the fly system being lowered onto the stage of the Barbican Theatre
A shot from November 1979, showing the Barbican Theatre’s trademark concrete surrounds during late construction
A completed Barbican Concert Hall is dressed for the evening’s prize-giving ceremony for students of City of London Polytechnic in 1981
View from above of the emerging staircases in the Foyers during late construction in November 1979
A light sculpture hangs above the staircase, leading to the lower Foyers, in the summer of 1981
A spectacular view looking down on the Foyer Mezzanine, with the impressive ceiling and staircases in view in November 1979
The London Symphony Orchestra perform an open-air concert on the Sculpture Court in August 1982
A view from above of the three Barbican Towers and the emerging arts centre nearby in 1979
The Lakeside fountains begin to emerge from the concrete in 1979
A view across the thriving greenery in the Conservatory in spring 1980
This is contrasted by this earlier, 1979, shot, looking down on the empty bed of the pond in the Barbican Conservatory
A view in the Barbican plant room in 1980; one of the lesser known areas of the brutalist complex
INFORMATION
Building The Brutal is published by the Barbican. For more information on the book visit the Barbican website
-
Bold colours and tactile textures: inside Bottega Veneta's second fine jewellery dropThe collection is composed of two parts: Enlaced and Alchemy
-
Bhutan's new international airport will unlock the magic of a notoriously inaccessible destinationThe Gelephu International Airport, to be designed by BIG, will open in 2029.
-
The Eagan house from 'Severance' is available to rentThe Taghkanic House by Thomas Phifer serves as the home of Lumon’s CEO in the AppleTV+ series, and can be rented out for dystopian stays
-
Showing off its gargoyles and curves, The Gradel Quadrangles opens in OxfordThe Gradel Quadrangles, designed by David Kohn Architects, brings a touch of playfulness to Oxford through a modern interpretation of historical architecture
-
A Norfolk bungalow has been transformed through a deft sculptural remodellingNorth Sea East Wood is the radical overhaul of a Norfolk bungalow, designed to open up the property to sea and garden views
-
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
-
A new concrete extension opens up this Stoke Newington house to its gardenArchitects Bindloss Dawes' concrete extension has brought a considered material palette to this elegant Victorian family house
-
A former garage is transformed into a compact but multifunctional spaceA multifunctional, compact house by Francesco Pierazzi is created through a unique spatial arrangement in the heart of the Surrey countryside
-
A 1960s North London townhouse deftly makes the transition to the 21st CenturyThanks to a sensitive redesign by Studio Hagen Hall, this midcentury gem in Hampstead is now a sustainable powerhouse.
-
Manchester United and Foster + Partners to build a new stadium: ‘Arguably the largest public space in the world’The football club will spend £2 billion on the ambitious project, which co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described as the ‘world's greatest football stadium’
-
An architect’s own home offers a refined and leafy retreat from its East London surroundingsStudioshaw has completed a courtyard house in amongst a cluster of traditional terraced houses, harnessing the sun and plenty of greenery to bolster privacy and warmth
