What were the Barbican muses?

In 1991, a redesign of the Barbican took place, designed by Pentagram. It aimed to soften and obscure a Brutalist architectural style which had fallen out of favour with the management.

The most famous interventions were the sculptures put above the Silk Street entrance, representing the Muses.

They stand out against the dark concrete of the Barbican.

In the cultures of Ancient Greece, the nine Muses were thought to inspire the arts.

And they were an apt symbol to welcome visitors to the Barbican. The word museum comes from the Greek, mouseion, which means 'seat of the Muses'.

The redesign also added features such as this Owl bannister ending.

It was designed to be added on to the clean lines of the original brass railings.

You can see the original style of the bannisters in this photo from 1982.

Like many of Pentagram’s suggestions, this was removed four years later, when the management changed. It was mounted on board for safekeeping by Barbican staff.

The muses were also short-lived additions to the Barbican and were removed by 1995.