The City of London Corporation (the City Corporation) will be undertaking essential refurbishment and improvement works within the Barbican over the next few years.
On this website you can find out information & news relating to the Barbican Podium Phase Two Project (above Beech Street).
Scroll down and explore our pages to find out more
Dear Residents,
We are very pleased to confirm the Barbican Podium Phase 2 Project has now received approval for funding at the latest Court of Common Council meeting. This important milestone means the project can now move into the next stage, where a contractor will be formally appointed to carry out the works.
Over the course of this year, we will focus on discharging the necessary pre-planning conditions required before construction can begin. One of the key early activities will be the removal of the Yellow Link Building, currently planned for this summer. In parallel, the project team will work to resolve the remaining contractual and technical matters, with the aim of achieving a Spring 2027 start on site.
As the programme moves into delivery, responsibility for the project will transition to a combined leadership between the Barbican Estate Office (Dan Sanders) and the Barbican Centre (Philippa Simpson), reflecting the significant impact the works will have across both the residential estate and the wider Barbican Renewal programme. This joint approach will help ensure that the needs of residents, the cultural centre, and the estate are considered throughout the project, and that all activity and design is fully coordinated.
This is a very exciting moment for the Barbican. The podium refurbishment represents a once-in-a-generation investment in the long-term future of the estate, helping to protect and enhance one of London’s most iconic environments. We are committed to working openly and collaboratively with resident groups across the estate, ensuring clear communication and engagement as the project develops and construction approaches.
A core element of the works is the comprehensive upgrade of the podium drainage system. Addressing long-standing issues with water pooling across the podium is a major priority of the project. The scheme will also incorporate the drainage improvements originally intended as part of Phase 1 podium works but not delivered at that time, ensuring a more robust and resilient drainage network for the future.
Beyond resolving these technical issues, the project will deliver a range of wider benefits for residents and visitors. These include:
Improved drainage and waterproofing, protecting the buildings and facilities located beneath the podium structure and ending the water pooling following rainfall.
Enhanced landscaping and planting, supporting biodiversity and contributing to a greener, more climate-resilient estate.
Long-term protection of the Barbican’s heritage, through sensitive refurbishment that respects the estate’s Grade II listed status.
Better accessibility and legibility of the podium, making routes and spaces clearer and easier to navigate.
Integration with the wider Barbican Renewal programme, helping to secure the future of the Barbican as a world-leading cultural and residential destination for the next 50 years.
Taken together, these improvements will help ensure that the Barbican podium remains a welcoming, resilient, and vibrant place for residents, visitors, and nature, while safeguarding the estate’s unique architectural character for generations to come.
We look forward to continuing to work with residents and stakeholders as the project progresses.
Best,
Dan
Dan Sanders
Director of Property & Estate Management
Department of Community and Children’s Services
City of London Corporation
Barbican Estate Office, 3 Lauderdale Place, EC2Y 8EN
Since Planning and Listed Building Consent was granted in July 2023, detailed design work and surveys have been ongoing and will need completing before any works to the podium can take place.
Our current indicative timeline is:
Completion of stage 4 design - September 2024
Procurement of main contractor - ongoing
Estimated start on site - Summer 2026
Estimated completion - Autumn 2028
The design will be compliant with the City of London’s Climate Action Strategy and Bio-Diversity Plan with an increase to greening in the region of 75%.
The scheme will include new Public Artwork installations. Future City are the appointed Artwork consultant on behalf of the City Corporation and an Artwork Steering Group has been set up.
Regular meetings are taking place with the Barbican Renewal Projects team, to share information on both projects as they move forward.
One of the planning conditions is to develop a Barbican-wide wayfinding strategy, in consultation with other stakeholders that may be adopted by future projects. A consultation group of identified stakeholders has been set up and the first meeting has taken place.
Click below to download the Design & Access Statement from Atkins outlining the approved scheme
New article from the February 2025 edition of Gardens Illustrated: Beech Gardens at the Barbican, ten years on.
Professor Nigel Dunnett looks at how the iconic public gardens he created at The Barbican Estate in London have evolved over the past decade
27 June 2023
We are delighted to announce that our applications for planning permission and listed building consent were approved by the City of London Planning Applications Sub Committee on Tuesday 27 June 2023.
A link to a recording of the Planning Applications Sub Committee can be found here:
Your insights and feedback have been extremely valuable to us during the consultation process, and we look forward to continuing to work with the local community as we move forward to deliver the project.
We will publish further updates, including an indicative timeline for the works, in due course.
If you have any queries on the above, please contact us via info@barbicanprojects.co.uk
““We are delighted that this important exemplar scheme for the City of London has been approved. The unique opportunity to transform the Grade II* Registered Park and Garden Barbican Podium will deliver a multitude of social and environmental benefits for residents and visitors alike. The scheme has embedded a climate resilient and urban greening approach within the heart of the City of London and the iconic Barbican Estate.
The unanimous decision to approve means we can now move forward to deliver the designs ensuring the Barbican remains a thriving place for people and nature to live, visit and for future generations to come.”
”
The City Corporation will be undertaking waterproofing and drainage refurbishment on the podium, covering the public realm in the vicinity of Ben Jonson Place, Breton and Cromwell High Walk.
Replacing the existing waterproofing membrane is a priority as the existing membrane has deteriorated and is no longer able to fully protect the concrete structure or the occupied spaces below it from water ingress. Improvement work will also be undertaken to the existing drainage infrastructure.
This project is vital. Leaks are already occurring due to this issue and will further escalate until addressed.
To facilitate the project, existing soft and hard landscaping will be removed. This affords us an opportunity improve and extend soft landscaped areas on the podium.
The project has received listed building consent and planning permission.
This project is needed, as the existing waterproofing membrane at the podium has deteriorated and can no longer fully protect the concrete structure or spaces below the podium from water ingress.
Leaks are already occurring due to this issue and will further escalate until addressed.
The completed project will ensure that internal areas in and around the podium are protected from water ingress.
Our project will result in improved water management. This means water can be discharged efficiently to the internal drainage system.
On this page you can explore our vision for this project. Proposals are subject to planning and listed building consent.
Phase One - Purple
Phase Two - Red.
Phase Two is a natural evolution from the award-winning Phase One, which was completed in 2015.
You can find out more about Phase One by scrolling further below.
It is not possible to replace the waterproof membrane without removing the existing hard and soft landscaping. The landscaping will need to be reinstated, which we see as an opportunity to improve the podium.
The original vision of the Barbican drew on inspiration from London’s garden squares. We have an opportunity to develop this vision at the podium by expanding soft landscaping and improving the overall design.
Provide a waterproof podium
Provide an accessible and inclusive place for people
To enhance the character and amenity value of the podium
Develop the original aspirations of the Chamberlin Powel and Bon vision respecting the rich heritage of the Barbican
To work towards the principles of the Climate Action Strategy and future proof the Barbican
To improve water management, improve the microclimate and increase biodiversity.
We are removing the yellow link building located between Ben Jonson House and Frobisher Crescent. This is necessary to effectively undertake waterproofing and drainage work at the podium.
Its removal will provide an opportunity to improve access, legibility and circulation across the podium and to introduce additional areas of greening.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we are committed to re-using, repurposing and recycling all removed materials throughout the podium where possible, this includes the yellow link building.
Our landscaping plans will take inspiration from the emerging City of London Biodiversity Plan along with Culture Mile and Climate Action Plan Strategies. We believe our completed project can improve people’s wellbeing whilst helping the Barbican combat climate change.
The landscaping design will be a continuation of Phase One, which encompassed Beech Gardens. The landscaping was designed by the renowned Nigel Dunnett of Sheffield University.
In 2018, Nigel was recognised for his work at Phase One. He won the Landscape Institute Award for Planting Design, Public Horticulture and Strategic Ecology, and the Landscape Institute Fellows Prize for Most Outstanding Project.
Nigel is passionate about the Barbican Estate. You can find out more about Phase One by visiting his website: www.nigeldunnett.com
Credit: Greenlee Meadows
Refurbishment work on the podium is not immediate. We currently anticipate this to commence in 2026. Once commenced, work will be staged in different sections throughout the Phase Two area to minimise disruption.
A comprehensive Construction Management Plan will be produced once a contractor has been confirmed. Once a contractor has been appointed, further engagement with residents and occupants will occur.
Once the project does commence, it is our intention to provide updates and meet regularly with our neighbours, to ensure the surrounding community is kept fully informed.
Our Project Team for Phase 2
If you require the information on this website in a different format, for example, translations, larger format or in Braille, please contact the project team.
