Business at the Barbican

It wasn't just the Barbican's Exhibition Halls which were geared towards entertaining business people drawn to the City of London.

Much of the rest of the building was kitted out to cater for businesses and their clients.

It extended one of the original aims of the project - to bring back life to the heart of the City.

The advertising made a point of the variety of transport options for getting to the Centre.

As it was intended to be an international hub, some of the promotional material was aimed at overseas audiences, like this one in French.

This brochure advertises the hospitality options. It's a record of how things originally looked in the Barbican's cafes and restaurants.

These meeting rooms in Frobisher Crescent still serve the same purpose, but the furniture and fittings have changed. Indoor ashtrays, for instance, have long since been removed.

The sheer number of events has left behind objects which have found their way into the archive.

They're often very connected to the fashions of the time, like this Barbican-branded lava lamp. 'Barbican - inspiring business', it says.

It may have been made to be given as a free gift to guests, but this one was kept back on the shelves. It is now part of our Archive collection.