Building record MWX1016 - Barclays House, 1 Wimborne Road, Poole
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Type and Period (3)
Full Description
Barclays House is a late 20th century building. <1>
Barclay's House was built in 1976 for Barclay's Bank. It comprises three large conjoined towers rising to eight storeys.
As early as 1969 Poole Borough Council was approached by Barclays Bank DCO (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), now Barclays Bank plc, concerning the transfer of part of the bank's operations to Poole. On the west side of the town, the construction of Towngate Bridge during 1969-70 and new approaches to an extended George Roundabout had created a vacant site of approximately three acres on the north west side of the roundabout. This prominent location, at the junction of several major roads, was selected for the site of Barclays Bank's new offices. Planning permission was granted in 1971 and construction started in 1972; the main contractors were John Laing Construction Ltd. Barclays House, which was opened in January 1976, was designed by Wilson, Mason and Partners. The geometric design of the building was influenced by the shape of the site and focussed on open planning, providing more than 400,000 square foot of useable floor space and a basement. A car park for 1,160 cars was constructed on an adjacent site to the north west and linked to the bank building by an elevated walkway. Barclays House is located within an area of the town centre that has been identified for regeneration and the Borough Council proposing to draft an Area Action Plan under the new Local Delivery Framework process which will inform any future redevelopment in this area.
The building comprises of four nine storey blocks: a rectangular central block containing the lifts and ancillary rooms, and three octagonal wings of open-plan office accommodation, meeting rooms and staff facilities including a staff restaurant and shop. The building is connected to a seven storey multi-storey car park situated to the north via a pedestrian bridge link.
Barclays House is built of pre-cast concrete consisting of external concrete piers and a structural framework provided by a central reinforced concrete core and eight internal circular columns to each octagonal wing. The building is surrounded on all but part of the south side by a substantial battered curtain wall that is faced with concrete tiles. The superstructure of each of the octagons is supported by external hollow U-shaped concrete piers that are pronouncedly battered at their base and rise the full height of the building. Bronze-coloured GRP (glass reinforced plastic) panels, recessed behind the piers, define each of the floors. The windows are vertically arranged and have aluminium frames and bronze anti-sun glass. Together these establish a vertical theme to the building and contrast with the concrete piers. The entrance block, which faces south west onto the George Roundabout, is slightly taller than the wings and has battered concrete piers at each end.
The entrance has a chunky, flat-topped projecting canopy, above which each floor is defined by horizontal banks of recessed windows and balconies that are clad with copper sheeting. The latter has been irregularly banded so that it has the appearance of dressed stone. Above the ninth floor is a wider band of copper sheeting, upon which a large aluminium eagle is mounted - the Barclay's logo. Internally the overall plan of the building is quite simple; eight lifts, the main staircase, lavatories, and some office accommodation are sited within the central block and, on each floor, corridors lead from the lift area to the open-plan offices within the octagonal wings. The entrance hall is approached through revolving doors set within glass panelling. It has polished marble-clad walls and metal fixtures. The eight lifts, four in the north wall, and two each to the left and right walls are sited beyond security turnstiles and gates. Corridors lead off on three sides, providing access to lavatories and the staircase, and to the octagonal wings, known as A, B and C Blocks. The main staircase has metal balusters and a wooden handrail, but is plain. The layout and design of each wing is fairly similar on most floors; all have a circular staircase sited within the central concrete core. The stairwell is top lit and accessible from each floor. The eight concrete columns that rise up through each wing and support the floors form a ring around each staircase and the U-shaped plan of the external piers provide valuable storage space between each window. The basements contain the main air-conditioning and other plant, storage areas, changing facilities, and two squash courts; whilst the ground floor of the north east wing (A Block) has a shop, medical centre, and access stairs leading to the car park bridge link. All other floors, except the ninth floors of A and C (south west wing) Blocks provide open-plan office accommodation. Five eighths of the top floors of A and C Blocks house the staff restaurant and meeting rooms respectively; the other floor space provides open roof terraces with views over Poole and the surrounding area. Within both the restaurant and the top floor of C Block, the support pillars are clad in timber to provide a decorative treatment, and recessed canopied seating in both the restaurant and the lecture hall in C Block has been cleverly sited within the hollow of the structural concrete piers. Barclays House has undergone some modification since construction, including the insertion of raised floors to the offices to make better provision for underfloor electrical cabling; and a projecting single-storey extension, at the rear of the building has been added to improve the security of vehicle deliveries. Beyond this it is largely unaltered. The multi-storey car park to the north is connected to Barclays House via a pedestrian bridge. The latter is of concrete, supported on a steel pillar at its northern end, with metal railings to the walkway. The car park is built of pre-cast concrete and brick and can house up to 1,600 cars. It has seven tiers and a stair tower at each corner; the one to the south east is larger and connects to the bridge link at third floor level. The parking levels are articulated with short projecting concrete fins - quite a striking feature and the effect is to give a strong vertical emphasis. The sides are also guarded by heavy metal railings. The service towers are far plainer; here the brickwork is broken only, and to only one of the elevations of each tower, by brick pilasters and vertical bands formed by blank panels and the windows that light the stairs. The parking levels are functional, as to be expected. Barclays House is quite a striking and little-altered office building which stands in a prominent location in Poole and is a dominant landmark upon the streetscape. It has a well-designed layout which has been carefully thought out, fulfilling the client's brief: in its provision of office space and communal facilities for employees including a restaurant, shop, medical centre and squash courts. However its plan form is straight forward and unexceptional and the quality of materials is also unexceptional, although better externally than internally. It is a building of some, but not special, architectural quality. Its architectural style is fairly typical of the 1970s evident in the use of octagons, pre-cast panels and long slit glazing designed to limit solar gain and glare. The design of these types of building was particularly informed by the rise in computers and the open-plan office during the 1970s. Barclays House was clearly built with some architectural pretension, using many of the design features that were in vogue at the time of construction. However, throughout it lacks a close attention to detail and quality in the materials used; there are splashes of quality including the entrance façade and the lobby, but in the latter, new reception facilities and security barriers have been introduced and the ceiling which originally had an octagonal design has been replaced. Elsewhere, much of the interior is plain and disappointing; particularly the other common areas and meeting rooms. Externally
Barclays House is a visually striking building, but it appears bulky and squat, and slightly out of proportion in terms of scale; it would perhaps be a more successful composition if the building were several stories taller. Barclays House is a competent design, particularly in the quality of its imposing external form, but that it lacks innovative design, spatial quality and planning interest. Any significance to be attributed to the adjacent car park must lie in its quality as a piece of architecture and its interest in the history of multi storey car parks. The Barclays House car park is not a particularly early example in terms of the history of multi-storey car parks which were first constructed in the Edwardian period. However, whilst the concrete fins do articulate the parking floors well and give the building some panache; this car park is rather utilitarian in its design. <2>
<1> National Monuments Record, Unknown, Barclay's House, High Street Poole (Index). SWX9089.
<2> English Heritage, English Heritage Schedule Entry (Scheduling record). SDO17387.
Adviser's Report dated 23-JUL-2007 Ms Guthrie.
<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1461061 (Digital archive). SDO14739.
Sources/Archives (3)
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Location
Grid reference | Centred SZ 01463 91167 (86m by 91m) |
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Map sheet | SZ09SW |
Unitary Authority | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Other Statuses/References
- Legacy UID: Dorset Sites and Monuments Record: NBR Index Number - 99958
- Legacy UID: National Monuments Record: SZ 09 SW 121 SZ 09 SW 136
- Legacy UID: National Record of the Historic Environment: 1461061
Record last edited
Apr 6 2022 9:48AM