The Barbican Centre had a long development period, only opening some years after the surrounding
Barbican Estate housing complex had been completed. It is situated in an area which was badly bombed during World War II. The Barbican Centre, designed by
Peter Chamberlin,
Geoffry Powell and Christoph Bon of
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the
Brutalist style, has a complex multi-level layout with numerous entrances. Lines painted on the ground help would-be audience members avoid getting lost on the walkways of the
Barbican Estate, within which the centre is located, on the way to it. The Barbican Centre's design – a concrete
ziggurat – has always been controversial and divides opinion. It was voted "London's ugliest building" in a
Grey London poll in September 2003. In September 2001, arts minister
Tessa Blackstone announced that the Barbican Centre complex was to be a
Grade II listed building. It has been designated a site of special architectural interest for its scale, its cohesion and the ambition of the project. The centre was designed by architectural practice
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, who were also responsible for the upscale residential area surrounding the centre (the
Barbican Estate), as well as the nearby
Golden Lane Estate. Project architect John Honer later worked on the
British Library at St Pancras – a red brick ziggurat. In the mid-1990s, a cosmetic improvement scheme by
Theo Crosby, of the
Pentagram design studio, added statues and decorative features reminiscent of the
Arts and Crafts movement. In 2005–2006, the centre underwent a more significant refurbishment, designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris and
Roger Westman, which improved circulation and introduced bold signage in a style in keeping with the centre's original 1970s
Brutalist architecture. That improvement scheme added an internal bridge linking the Silk Street foyer area with the lakeside foyer area. The centre's
Silk Street entrance, previously dominated by an access for vehicles, was modified to give better pedestrian access. The scheme included removing most of the mid-1990s embellishments. Outside, the main focal point of the centre is the lake and its neighbouring terrace. The theatre's
fly tower has been surrounded by glass and made into a high-level
conservatory. The Barbican Hall's acoustic has also been controversial: some praised it as attractively warm, but others found it too dry for large-scale orchestral performance. In 1994,
Chicago acoustician Larry Kirkegaard oversaw a £500,000 acoustic re-engineering of the hall "producing a perceptible improvement in echo control and sound absorption", music critic
Norman Lebrecht wrote in October 2000 – and returned in 2001 to rip out the stage canopy and drop adjustable acoustic reflectors, designed by Caruso St John, from the ceiling, as part of a £7.5 mn refurbishment of the hall. Art music magazine
Gramophone still complained about "the relative dryness of the Barbican acoustic" in August 2007. The theatre was built as the London home of the
Royal Shakespeare Company, which was involved in the design, but decided not to renew its contract in 2002 after claiming a lack of performing space, plus the artistic director,
Adrian Noble, wanting to develop the company's touring performances. The theatre's response was to extend its existing six-month season of international productions, "Barbican International Theatre Event", to the whole year. On 23 January 2013,
Greg Doran, RSC artistic director, announced the company's return to the Barbican Centre in a three-year season of Shakespeare's
history plays. In 2017, a new concert hall called the
Centre for Music, London was proposed by the Barbican,
London Symphony Orchestra, and the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The proposals were cancelled in 2021. The
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where the Barbican Centre theatrical performances are occasionally staged, and the City of London's Barbican Library, neither part of the centre, are also on the site. The
Museum of London is nearby at
Aldersgate, and is also within the Barbican Estate. ==London Australian Film Festival==