The Barbican Centre has become a landmark in London, and behind its listed exterior it is continually adapting to meet demands. Alison Luke finds out the latest developments.

Regulars at the Barbican Centre have started to notice changes. Scheduled for completion in December, the latest round of refurbishment at the central London arts venue is already making an impact. Upgraded entrances and new routes are easing the way through the maze of concrete buildings, with new signage further helping navigation through this complex development.

To a design by architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), the three-year phased project has involved a £12.6 million overhaul of the Centre's public spaces. Included in this was the remodelling of the entrance from the Centre's Lakeside terrace plus the creation of a new pedestrianised entrance. An internal bridge has been added to link these entrances. Information points, ticket offices, bars and retail areas have been relocated and updated to make them more accessible and user-friendly. In addition, the original architecture in the public areas has been restored and an integrated scheme involving new branding, signage and lighting will complete the new look.

Originally opened in 1982, the Barbican is cited as Europe's largest arts and conference venue, covering seven acres. Owned, funded and managed by the Corporation of London it includes a staggering 2026 seat concert hall, two theatres, three cinemas, two art galleries, 4500 m2 of public spaces, conference suites, trade exhibition halls, three restaurants, a lakeside terrace and rooftop conservatory. The complex is Grade II listed by English Heritage and forms the heart of the 35-acre residential Barbican Estate. The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, under separate management, also forms part of the site.

The Barbican launched its ‘public spaces improvement project' in April 2002. One of the challenges was to carry out the major capital works while keeping the Centre's facilities open to the public. To enable this, tight schedules were needed to co-ordinate the closure of areas at different times and schedule noisy work so performances were not disturbed.

The Barbican's in-house engineering and projects staff played a vital role here (see box ‘The show must go on'), working closely with the construction team. There were two main reasons for this: the sheer scale of the building plus their involvement post-build.

"Normally we say it takes around three months for somebody to find their way around [the Barbican Centre] as there are nine levels plus basements," explains Gary Goodman, building inspector with the engineering team. Among other tasks the in-house staff provided drawings and details of service routes. Phil Sharman, principal project manager of the Barbican projects team, explains: "The engineering department has ownership of the ‘as-built' manuals, so were providing information to the teams doing the work and had a heavy input into the way the work was done. There is also a work permit system in place on site and the engineering team provides permission for contractors to work in areas to ensure the site is operational throughout. It is also their job to pick up the maintenance responsibility after the project. "

Creating change

"The project was broken down into a series of packages then Arup Project Management was appointed for the overall management," explains Sharman. Around 20 packages were released, ranging from the large building contracts involving the entrances and bridges to furniture supply. Arup's role as project manager included responsibility for the designs of the architects, m&e services, structural engineering and planning supervisor services. "We appointed a series of specialist contractors on direct contract to the Barbican then novated those to Arup [Project Management], so the firms would work directly under Arup," says Sharman.

This top tier of firms included m&e consultant Sir Frederick Snow & Partners, lighting designer Minds Eye, structural engineer Faber Maunsell and signage and wayfinding consultant Cartlidge Levene. "Below this level we appointed building contractors throughout who subcontracted the m&e packages," adds Sharman.

Kier was responsible for some of the larger elements of work including the new bridge between the entrances. "The larger contracts were completed about nine months ago as they involved a lot of heavy work at the beginning in terms of construction of the bridge and bars," says Sharman. The firm was also responsible for providing cabling routes for the electronic display systems that will be dotted around the Centre.

One of the most visual parts of the project was the installation of new signage and navigation elements. Wood & Wood Signs was responsible for the signage, employing specialist electrical contractor Burchills to provide cabling and power. The firm manufactured the products to designs by Cartlidge Levene, with sister firm Wood & Wood Design inputting design development on the job. Careful co-ordination and prototyping was required due to the listed status all improvements had to integrate visually with the existing infrastructure.

To ease co-ordination, all contractors were site-based. The in-house team included two projects managers, which are acting as client representatives. The Arup project manager shared offices with the Barbican's project team throughout.

The end is in sight

With the new Silk Street entrance coming to completion, the changes made in the refurbishment are now highly evident. "We will essentially complete on the majority of the construction work in June, but we are in the process of changing the lighting," explains Sharman. "In the lighting contract there is almost £1 million of work involved."

SEC prequalified for the foyer lighting project in summer 2005. The contract will involve the installation of almost 900 lights in a state-of-the-art scheme that allows scene and mood setting to suit the events taking place. Ceiling uplighters and downlighters will be combined with wall washers to highlight the texture of the Centre's trademark concrete finishes. The scheme will also integrate with the new signage in a colour-coded system to help navigation around the building.

As part of the contract SEC will also carry out the associated electrical work. "This is quite a large and complex operation as it will require working at night and at heights of up to 13 m, so there are health and safety issues to overcome in addition to maintaining the opening of the Centre," says Sharman.

This year's Architecture Week (16-26 June) will feature tours and talks at the Barbican, giving a perfect chance to see the Centre in all its revived glory.

The show must go on

Behind the scenes at the Barbican Centre a team of 41 engineering staff works 24/7 to maintain the building’s m&e services and ensure the success of refurbishment projects. These are divided into two departments: the engineering team that covers minor works and the projects team that generally oversees the larger works. All minor work is done in house as are medium-sized projects depending on staff resources. Major refurbishments are carried out by external contractors, with the in-house staff’s involvement.

The day-to-day work involves a mix of maintenance and installation of new systems to upgrade the Centre. In addition, the team works under a service level agreement at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD). Around a third of the work is traditional maintenance; a third is providing temporary services for specific events; the remainder involves minor works.

“We have three crews: the daycrew and apprentices; the shift crew; and the GSMD day crew,” explains senior electrical engineer Mick Lynch. The shift team work on a rolling programme from 7-7, providing 24/7 cover. “Because of the nature of the beast, we do everything,” adds Lynch.” What we call minor works would be projects up to the value of around £50-60 000. I would view us as equivalent to a small to medium-sized contracting company.”

Work is assigned via a maintenance helpdesk and talks are underway to trial WiFi PDAs to increase productivity.

Stars of stage and screen

To counter an ageing workforce and ensure new skills are gained, the Barbican has subscribed to the JTL Apprentice Scheme. “This is the first time in the Barbican’s history that an apprenticeship scheme has been undertaken,” says Goodman. “It is a cost-effective way to future-proof the organisation,” explains Malcolm Johnson, engineering services manager.

Aaron Goodman is in the second year of the JTL-approved City & Guilds 2330 course; a second apprentice is sitting City & Guilds 2336, having completed a year of the course prior to being employed by the Barbican. “The issue to us, without uniqueness, is that we’re faced with an ageing workforce, skills shortages and trouble recruiting,” explains Lynch. “Also the skill profile [needed at the Barbican] is unusual, so we thought the best way to do it is bring apprentices on board.”

“Our intention an an employee is to widen the scheme, funding permitted, and continue an intake of apprentices on a yearly basis, gradually building numbers up,” says Goodman. The Barbican team though is not just concentrating on school leavers to increase its skillsets. A former lamper is currently completing NVQ3. “We’re trying to do training not on just one level,” says Lynch. The organisation also takes on a number of work experience students. “This is another potential recruitment path, and tying up with colleges gives us links to education,” explains Johnson. The Barbican is currently recruiting a plumbing apprentice to start this summer.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor