Barbican Podium Waterproofing, Drainage and Landscaping Works (Ben Jonson, Breton & Cromwell Highwalk) Phase 2 – 1st Priority Zone

1. Project Description

The Barbican Estate is grade 2 listed with a multitude of uses including an arts centre, 2014 dwellings, exhibition halls, cinemas, restaurants theatres, gallery space and a large conservatory. Designed and constructed in the 1960s and 1970s by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon the Barbican Estate represents a prominent example of brutalist architecture. The publicly accessible podium provides a pedestrian only elevated walkway connecting the residential towers, terraces and the Barbican Centre. The existing podium is predominantly made up of brick tiles with areas of defined planting set within the podium.

The existing podium deck and waterproofing membrane has become damaged and is leaking into the buildings below including the Exhibition Halls.

The City of London, as the owner and manager of the estate, is currently undertaking a large-scale refurbishment of the podium deck. Phase 1 of this refurbishment was completed in 2015, this project will focus on Phase 2; a 18,344sqm area along the northern portion of the estate. Several more phases are expected to be required in order to repair other parts of the podium. An initial feasibility study was undertaken that demonstrated several reasons for this including:

• the drainage system;
• damage to the waterproofing;
• shallow crossfalls;
• detailing of the expansion joints.

The podium deck needs be taken up to replace and repair the damaged waterproofing membrane. Works were completed on phase 1 in 2015. This project builds on the lessons learned from phase 1 for the area identified as phase 2.

Surface refurbishment, replacement of waterproofing membrane, remedial works to drainage infrastructure, and landscaping works to Barbican Podium Phase 2, 1st Priority Zone.