The Barbican Estate had incredible kitchens. They were designed by yacht designer Brooke Marine, who were chosen by the architects for their expertise in planning small spaces. The original wall cabinets had a stepped design featuring sliding glass doors. The electric hot plates were set into the stainless steel worktop, with the controls at eye level. Extraction was through a centralised and concealed network. Even the sinks included an integrated building-wide waste removal system called a garchey.

Unfortunately, after more than 40 years in service, many of the original kitchens are reaching the end of their life. One of the big challenges now, is how to reimagine them while staying sympathetic to the initial concept.

Despite previous removal of the garchy and replacement of the kitchen in the early 1990’s, Uncommon Projects designed this new kitchen to honour the original version. An updated layout gives a more ergonomic plan, that incorporates all the appliances you expect in a contemporary kitchen. However, the stepped wall units with sliding doors over the sink and the functional, minimal white design pay homage to the Brooke Marine concept. The Barbican’s idiosyncratic pipework and extraction were easily integrated into Uncommon Projects bespoke cabinetry.

Uncommon Projects completed this project with an experienced builder, electrician and plumber who specialise in working in the Barbican. As most residents of the Barbican know, the estate has lots of rules and peculiarities that could stand in the way of delivering an uncompromised kitchen design, and facing into a project like this can be daunting. Employing professionals who have familiarity with how things are done there certainly smooths the path.