Designed in the 1950s as a radical solution to urban living, the Barbican Estate is one of London’s most iconic structures. A city within a city, this colossal brutalist complex is a utopian and car-free urban landscape that houses over 4,000 inhabitants in 2,000 apartments, a world-renowned arts centre, a museum, a theatre, a cinema, a concert hall, a library, schools, a church, restaurants, pubs– everything a city dweller might ask for, plus open spaces and a relieving connection to nature.

Built in the post-war era, and officially opened in 1982, the Barbican symbolizes hope and rebirth, a vision for a brighter future. Located in an area once devastated during the Blitz, the Barbican is as imposing in its dimension as it is extraordinary in its ambition. The architects, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, were inspired by Le Corbusier and modern utopian thinking about the perfect way to live in the city. Built using concrete, exposed brick and glass, it consists of three 40-storey tower blocks, thirteen terrace blocks, two mews and two blocks of townhouses arranged around communal spaces, elevated walkways and interconnected structures. Its design fosters ideals of harmonious living, both individually and collectively, connecting residents to both the urban environment and nature. While similar projects were created as council houses, the Barbican was intended for an audience described by the architects as “young professionals, likely to have a taste for Mediterranean holidays, French food and Scandinavian design”. And so it happened: Barbican residents include journalists, theatre and cinema directors, writers, architects and artists, along with magnates and financiers, with demand and prices now higher than ever.

It was important for the architects to integrate nature into the complex, providing a refuge from the wild city around. An artificial lake, waterfalls and fountains are interspersed with quiet nature reserves often growing over podiums, evergreen parks with mature trees and a meadow-like garden that provides waves of colour from spring through autumn, with interesting winter seed heads and textures. Even a lush rainforest grows indoors: the Barbican Conservatory – the largest in London after Kew Gardens. Initially conceived inside a giant glass pyramid on the lake, it was finally built in the 1980s as an ‘add-on’ that helps conceal the concrete stump of the fly tower used by the theatre below and improves the view for the residents. With a collection of 2,000 species of plants and trees, this glass-roofed two-storey indoor garden cleverly uses almost every element of the structure and the balconies to include plants and create a ‘hanging garden’ effect.

Loved for many, and loathed for others (in 2003, it was named the capital’s ugliest building in a poll for the London Design Festival), the Barbican was, and remains, a place where utopian ideas are made concrete. An icon of modern living, an architectural masterpiece, and a cultural hot spot, it’s also an oasis in the middle of the city that has allowed a rich bio-diverse ecosystem to flourish, a unique microcosm where to lose yourself in, too often, literally, and reconnect with yourself, with others and with nature.