Pup Architects in collaboration with Adjaye Associates and Benedetti Architects have been shortlisted for the Barbican Centre renewal contest.
The City of London Corporation has shortlisted five collaborative teams – featuring a total of 15 practices – for a major £50-150 million revamp of London’s Grade II-listed Barbican Centre
The finalists include Adjaye Associates with Benedetti Architects and PUP Architects; Allies and Morrison with Asif Khan Studio; and BIG with conservationist experts Avanti Architects and rising stars POoR Collective.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro with AJ 40 under 40 winners McCloy + Muchemwa and Purcell; and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios with Bureau de Change, Danish firm Schulze+Grassov, and Thinc of New York complete the shortlist.
The local authority for the Square Mile invited ‘multidisciplinary teams who have the skills, experience and ambition’ to compete for the high-profile commission to transform the Brutalist arts centre ‘to meet the needs of 21st-century artists, audiences and communities’.
The two-stage competition launched in September, almost 40 years after the cultural complex first opened at the heart of the Barbican Estate.
Barbican Centre chair Tom Sleigh said: ‘The Barbican is a much-loved global icon. This project will harness the visionary ambition of the City of London Corporation 40 years ago, which chose to build the centre, and make the venue ready for another four decades, continuing and amplifying the brilliant artistic achievements since then.
‘Crucially, this project will strengthen the Barbican’s ability to play a leading role in the recovery of the City and the capital from the pandemic. We are delighted at the response we received from design teams, and the five shortlisted consortia combine the creative talents of some really impressive established and emerging architectural practices.
‘We’re looking forward to hearing their plans for how they can work with us to deliver this exciting scheme.’