The Barbican Conservatory: London's Secret Jungle

The Barbican Conservatory in London is the city's second-largest glass greenhouse, constructed around the Barbican Theatre's fly tower to house over 2,000 tropical plant species. Designed by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, planting began in 1980 using 1,600 cubic metres of hand-mixed soil lifted by crane. In 2007, the conservatory adopted wild terrapins from Hampstead Heath, and the venue later hosted Harry Styles for his As It Was music video.

London Β· from the walk β€œSecrets and Surprises of Barbican” Β· audio ~4 min Β· Generated

Barbican Conservatory, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

Which music video was filmed inside the Barbican Conservatory in London?

Look up... higher... even higher. You see that wall of glass and steel towering above us? Behind it lies one of London's most extraordinary secrets. Even regular visitors to the Barbican sometimes don't know it's there β€” and looking at these grey concrete blocks from the outside, you'd never guess that they house the second-largest glass conservatory in London.......... Welcome to the Barbican Conservatory... London's hidden jungle.......... Before it became a tropical paradise, this space was originally just an architectural solution β€” designed to conceal the Barbican Theatre's fly tower, from which the rigging system and scenery for the stage Six stories below is lowered into place. But how do you hide an ugly concrete tower that looms over a residential estate? The architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon had an inspired idea β€” they planted the seeds, literally, in nineteen eighty, and this side-project grew to become something no one expected.......... The structure wraps around that fly tower, sitting under a steel and glass roof, with sixteen hundred cubic metres of soil... All of it hand-mixed to a specific requirement. And because the conservatory sits above the main entrance to the centre, every single plant and tree had to be lifted from the road by crane.......... And what a collection it holds! Over two thousand species of plants and trees, along with terrapins and Koi carp. The species are a mixture from regions as diverse as South Africa to the Brazilian coast.......... Now, here's a story most visitors never hear. The terrapins living in the ponds were actually brought to the conservatory after terrorising the local wildlife on Hampstead Heath! After the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film made them popular as pets in the nineteen nineties, families realised they'd bitten off more than they could chew once their little snappers grew up β€” and many were released into the wild. These wild terrapins were adopted by the Barbican in two thousand and seven, and they've been happily lounging here ever since.......... The Barbican itself has always divided opinion. When Queen Elizabeth the Second cut the ribbon in nineteen eighty-two, she described it as "one of the wonders of the modern world." Yet in two thousand and three... it was voted London's Ugliest building in a public poll. Love it or loathe it, there's no denying this conservatory turns that reputation completely on its head.......... And one more secret. The music video for Harry Styles' hit "As It Was" was filmed extensively right here β€” in the Barbican Centre and the Barbican Conservatory itself, spinning millions of viewers through this very space without most of them ever knowing what they were looking at.......... Take a moment. Breathe in. Somewhere beneath your feet, actors are rehearsing on a stage... and above you, palm trees are reaching for the London sky.

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