Barbican arts centre exterior with lake in foreground
Standing Brutalism

Barbican Estate

Chamberlin, Powell and Bon

The Barbican Estate is the largest brutalist complex in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Built on a bombed-out area of the City of London, it contains three towers — Cromwell, Shakespeare, and Lauderdale — along with lower terrace housing, an arts centre, schools, and a conservatory. Chamberlin, Powell and Bon designed it over a period of nearly thirty years.

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