Iconic Barbican unit refreshed with new art and vintage furniture
A Barbican apartment interior design refresh by designer Oskar Kohnen blends modern minimalism and art with the Brutalist complex's original character in London
A Barbican apartment interior has received a modern refresh by Oskar Kohnen Studio. East London based Kohnen leads an interior architecture and design studio that tackles spatial challenges with substance and refinement, through modern design and the use of art, and the case of this redesign of a Type 23 apartment in London's famous brutalist housing estate is no exception.
Built between 1965 and 1975 to a design by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, the brutalist architecture of the Barbican Estate is iconic of its genre. The particular apartment featured all the hallmarks of a typical Barbican penthouse, stretching from north to south and including signature barrel vaulted ceilings, long City views and original 1960s fittings and fixtures.
Kohnen employed a minimalist touch, maintaining the 20th century character of the apartment interior design and enriching it with contemporary interventions and mod-cons, such as a Swedish design kitchen, custom-made door hardware and bespoke bathroom fittings. Window frames were restored, walls were polished and kept their original off-white colour, and the decor remained clean and simple, based on craft and the original design's modernist approach.
Complementing the architecture, the interior was filled with a collection of vintage and modern furniture and art. ‘The Senzafine sofa from 1969, a prototype for Zanotta by Eleonore Peduzzi Riva who co-designed the famous DS-600, is situated facing out to help residents enjoy the view,' says Kohnen. ‘It is a perfect example of the utopian optimism of this era, that was dominated by young architects and designers being able to realise their ideas at large scale.'
Other pieces in this modern apartment interior design include the 1969 Biscia dining table and chairs by Pascal Mourgue for Steiner Paris, Mario Bellini's 1966 Amanta armchair for B&B Italia, and vintage lights by Iguzzini and Artemide. The products sit next to art, such as a large self-portrait by German 1980s avant-garde painter Markus Oehlen, and works on paper by the Czech sculptor Vaclav Pozarek.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Looking for a long-range luxury EV that’s a true Tesla alternative? Welcome to the Lucid Air
We drive the Lucid Air, the high-performance Californian EV that’s a welcome leftfield choice in a sea of Musk-mobiles. Vote Lucid!
By Guy Bird Published
-
Umbrian castle hotel Reschio seduces with 1,000 years of history, now explored in a new book
The estate, home to a boutique hotel and rentable houses, is documented in Rizzoli's ‘Reschio: the First Thousand Years’ – and is open for stays
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
By Ian Volner Published
-
‘London: Lost Interiors’ gathers unseen imagery of some of the capital’s most spectacular homes
This new monograph is a fascinating foray into the interior life of London, charting changing tastes, emerging styles and the shifting social history of grand houses in the heart of a fast-changing city
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Anglepoise and National Trust look to Britain’s coastal landscape for a new blue lighting collection
Anglepoise and National Trust announce their third lighting collection, Neptune Blue
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Designer James Shaw’s latest creation is a self-built home in east London
James Shaw's east London home is Filled with vintage finds and his trademark extruded plastic furniture, a compact self-built marvel
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Art’otel Battersea opens with immersive interiors by Jaime Hayon
An exclusive tour of Art’otel Battersea, the first UK opening from the group, located opposite the Battersea Power Station and featuring immersive interiors by Jaime Hayon
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Ælfred: the new east London destination for vintage Scandinavian design
Ælfred opens in Hackney Wick, offering democratically priced Scandinavian furniture, lighting, ceramics and glassware
By Emma O'Kelly Published
-
Hyperlocal design: these Atelier100 products are made within 100km of London
Atelier100 launches its retail space and debut locally focused design collection in London’s Hammersmith
By Martha Elliott Published
-
Dimoremilano opens immersive Marylebone residency around Frieze London 2022
Coinciding with this year’s Frieze London, Dimoremilano has opened an immersive residency at The Invisible Collection’s new Marylebone HQ
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Holloway Li’s debut furniture collection is like colourful candy
Holloway Li presents the ‘T4’ collection of furniture, created in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma and inspired by the designers’ 1990s childhood
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated