Rebuilding The Nation

September 3^rd 1939 – a date that holds huge significance as 80 years ago this week our country entered the Second World War. Following aerial bombardment during the Blitz many cities suffered terrible damage and so reconstruction work on a massive scale was needed to rebuild both the fabric of our towns and cities, as well as people’s lives.

One such project was the Barbican in central London – a utopian vision to transform the Cripplegate area which had been razed to the ground in 1940. One of London’s finest examples of Brutalist architecture, this Grade II listed complex of residential properties, a museum, a school and a centre for the arts and drama, was over 20 years in the making and a feat of architectural and engineering vision and expertise.

From ‘Barbican Living’, a very informative website by Michael Barrett, I learnt that the Structural Engineers behind the Barbican were Ove Arup who faced many challenges in its construction. From investigating potential damage that could befall nearby St Paul’s Cathedral to dealing with building foundations on London clay and kilometres of disused underground railways and sewers, the task was huge. Fearful that underground trains would cause damage to the new building and disturb theatrical productions above, Arup brought in specialists to investigate and potential problems were avoided by mounting train tracks on rubber bearings.

Cross Wall Construction, in which the walls between flats and those between flats and corridors are the structural load bearing walls rather than those on the outside, meant that materials and labour could be used more efficiently with on-site fabrication and rapid building methods. This also provided more aesthetic possibilities such as floor to ceiling windows and more open space without beams and columns. The use of concrete with a high percentage of granite, pick hammered to give the impression of monolithic structures, was a stunning architectural choice, but this painstaking work had to be carefully calculated so as not to undermine structural stability.

A key element of the work of the structural engineer was set at the start of the project when, in 1959, Arup wrote their first structural report advising the use of external framing and beams which became the jutting parapets at the top of the towers. Similarly, their ‘triangular’ shape avoids the use of parallel structural walls which prevent the building being blown over. Curved balconies also reduce wind resistance.

The Barbican is just one example of the reconstruction work which took place during the post war years – one of many iconic buildings which were designed by architects and made to stand up by structural engineers– Arup were also the Structural Engineers in the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral. As well as these famous landmarks however, we should also remember the thousands of residential properties which had to be built which, it could be said, were of even greater importance to those families who lost so much during the Blitz.