Bag yourself an apartment in the iconic Barbican
WHEN it comes to residential property in the City, there is nowhere quite like the Barbican. Ever since it was built in the sixties, the brutalist masterpiece has been one of the most iconic buildings in the Square Mile.
For those who work in the City there could hardly be a more convenient location – it’s a short stroll to work and the West End is just a short Tube ride away. Its lake, fountains, restaurant and top-quality arts centre make it a brilliant location in which to live (or have a pied a terre).
Now, for the first time since 1982, there are a number of new properties for sale at the development. The 69 apartments, which are a mixture of studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, are in a horseshoe-shaped building called Frobisher Crescent. When it was originally built the plan was that it would house residential properties on the top three of the building’s nine floors, but the need for office space meant that it was never converted. In recent years it was the HQ of the City University Business School.
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Now, though, the work has finally been carried out by developer United House, to designs by TP?Bennett Architects, in a project that has lasted over a year. The Barbican is a Grade II-listed building and all aspects of the original design have had to be retained, right down to making exact replicas of the old timber window screens.
Inside, the apartments have retro bathrooms and slick, modern interiors. All the apartments have private balcony space, which runs along the entire length of the building, and the two apartments at the end of each level have wraparound terraces, perfect for taking in the spectacular views of City landmarks such as the Lloyd’s building and St Paul’s cathedral.
Those on the top floors also have the iconic barrel-shaped arched roof, which gives then a mezzanine floor.
Prices range from £380,000 for a studio to £1.87m for three-bedroom duplex on the top floor, with triple-height ceilings and a wraparound terrace. For more information, contact Chesterton on 020 7288 0330 or Hamilton Brooks on 020 7606 8000. See: www.frobishercrescent.co.uk.