From the highwalk on the Rotunda there is a really amazing view of the Museum of London and Bastion House. This whole view going to change radically, if the City of London plans are approved.
The Museum of London is in the South West corner of the Barbican. It was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya.
The Museum opened in 1976. The City of London plan to close it in December this year (2022), and then to demolish it, along with the surrounding highwalks and pedestrian bridges over London Wall.
The dark-coloured block in the background on the right is Bastion House. This 17 storey tower block was built to the designs of architects Powell & Moya between 1972 and 1977 as part of the Barbican development. It is on top of part of the Museum of London’s display space.
The City of London now plan to demolish it.
So if the plans go ahead, this view will no longer exist. I rushed to sketch it.
This drawing is in an aspect ratio new to me: 15″ x 8.5″ or 38cm x 22cm. I wanted to get the whole of the front of the museum in the picture.
Here is comparison of the pen and ink and the the colour versions:
The City of London plans for the replacement buildings are on this site: https://londonwallwest.co.uk/
Residents are organising their response via the Barbican Association and this site: https://www.londonwallbest.com/
Philip Powell and Geoffry Powell
The architecture practice which designed The Barbican is “Chamberlain, Powell and Bon”. This “Powell” is Geoffrey Powell and not the Philip Powell of the Museum of London. The architects involved in designing the Barbican were: Geoffry Powell, Peter “Joe” Chamberlin, Christoph Bon, and Charles Greenberg.
The architects who designed the Museum of London and Bastion House are Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya of the architecture practice “Powell and Moya”.
Thank you to the reader who clarified this for me.
Jane Sketching 