The Barbican’s Sculpture Court is set to get a glow-up, as part of the cultural centre’s extensive renovation schemes.
From June 2028, sections of the Barbican Centre — which opened in 1982, and has since become an integral cog in London’s arts scene — will close for a year, as the venue undergoes a major makeover.
One aspect of this will be the ‘reawakening’ of its Sculpture Court, a one-acre courtyard located above the Concert Hall and framed by the swoosh of Frobisher Crescent. Although the courtyard space is currently used for outdoor cinema events — and this spring, will host a public art commission by Delcy Morelos — the Barbican says it suffers from “limited accessibility, deteriorating infrastructure and poor seating,” and it now goes largely unused by the public.
The planned renovation — overseen by architects Allies and Morrison and engineers Buro Happold — will feature:
🧱 Improved accessibility by way of wide, gently sloping ramps, plus lots more seating.
🧱 Fresh brickwork and lighting in keeping with the original 1980s aesthetic.
🧱 More than two thousand new plants, suitable for warmer summers and wetter winters, and presented in large, brick planters with integrated seating.
Overall, the idea is “to bring the Sculpture Court back into daily civic life, creating a beautiful, flexible and accessible setting where people can pause, meet and encounter art, architecture and nature — while fixing urgent conservation needs that impact the hall below.”
You can read more about the concept on Barbican’s website.
Early events in the Sculpture Court during the 1980s included ‘May Day Madness’, with puppets, clowns and folk dancing; and a production of Hamlet.
A public consultation on the Sculpture Court runs until 10 February 2026.
