Barbican Centre London: A centre for Conferences Barbican Centre London: A centre for ConferencesBarbican Centre
Big Business
In the 1970s and 80s, conferences were a big business. The idea was that building a venue to hold them in the heart of the City of London would help fund the activities of the Arts Centre.
Barbican Centre: for Conferences, Meetings and Exhibitions Barbican Centre: for Conferences, Meetings and ExhibitionsBarbican Centre
Variations
Or, in this version, 'The Barbican Centre for Arts, Conferences, Meetings and Exhibitions'.
Barbican Exhibition Hall A Entrance (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Exhibition Hall A
Two huge Exhibition Halls, then called A and B, were added to the design of the buildings, on the North side of Beech Street.
Barbican Exhibition Hall B Entrance (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Exhibition Hall B
Together, their capacity was more than 86,000 square feet: that's 8000 square metres.
Barbican Exhibition Hall B (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Conferences
All of the facilities were installed to hold major conferences...
Setting up Exhibition Hall B (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Meetings
...meetings of large organisations...
Event in the Exhibition Halls (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Exhibitions
... and Exhibitions. That normally meant trade exhibitions of goods or services, though the International Contemporary Art Fair was held here in 1984.
Event in the Exhibition Halls (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
A huge range of exhibitions and fairs took place in the Exhibition Halls over the years
Event in the Exhibition Halls (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
covering a wide range of subjects and trades.
Barbican Centre for Arts and Conferences Booklet Barbican Centre for Arts and Conferences Booklet (1981) by Corporation of LondonBarbican Centre
Technology
The latest audio and video technology was installed. There were public address systems and projectors, and meeting rooms could be connected by videolink to each other.
Cafe area in the Exhibition Halls (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Catering
There were places to relax and have a drink and a snack too.
Buffet in the Exhibition Halls (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Including bespoke catering options.
Photograph of Installed Directional Sign by Ken Briggs & AssociatesBarbican Centre
Signs
The signage and architecture overlapped with that of the Estate and Centre.
Barbican Arts and Conference Centre: City of London Barbican Arts and Conference Centre: City of London by Corporation of LondonBarbican Centre
Castle
This brochure, for instance, uses the castle logo originally designed by Herbert Spencer for the Estate.
Red Exhibtion Hall Cloakroom Tickets by Barbican CentreBarbican Centre
I'll get my coat
We've kept as much as possible in the archive to record the experience of being there, including these cloakroom tickets.
Tap to explore
Part of Exhibition Hall A has since been converted into Cinemas 2 and 3, and a branch of the restaurant Côte. Use Streetview to explore the area today.
Barbican Conference Room (1982) by Peter BloomfieldBarbican Centre
Shoulder pads and conference rooms
