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When are tickets released?
Admission to the Conservatory is ticketed and free. Select the Check Dates and Book button for the latest opening dates and times.
If you're unable to attend, you can return your free tickets through Orders and Tickets section in your account.
Join our waiting list to find out when new tickets are available.
The Barbican was designed to be different
Spring at the Barbican: Concrete Garden
Join us this spring for Concrete Garden, a season of events around growth, reflection and renewal.
As part of this season, our tropical oasis in the middle of the city will come alive with a programme of readings, talks and workshops.
These events are free, but ticketed. Reserve your timed entry slot before your visit.
Imagining Worlds
Sun 9 Feb
What ignites your imagination? How does the desire to create manifest itself? At this day of events celebrating words and creativity, enjoy readings by poets and writers Nikita Gill, Ariana Reines and So Mayer. The Feminist Duration Reading Group present readings and explorations of influential texts and under-represented voices, and Big Dyke Bookclub, hosted by Sophie Crawford, will lead a drop in discussion of formative texts and queer speculative imaginaries.
Reserve your space.
Fertile Ground
Sun 23 Mar
Step inside our Conservatory for a day of readings, talks and workshops on plants and fertile ground, including conversations around allotments and DIY workshops on making plants grow.
Reserve your space.
Experiments in Utopia
Sun 27 Apr
Consider methods of fostering collectiveness, building ecological connection and creating art in communal space at this takeover of talks, performances and workshops centred around intentional community building.
Reserve your space.
May Day
Sun 4 May
Come together and celebrate the traditional springtime festival with talks and workshops in the conservatory, with discussions about wellness and flower arranging sessions.
Reserve your space.
Listening to Images
Sun 11 May
Join us for a day of pop up readings, discussions, performances and workshops centred around Tina Campt's idea of 'listening to images'. Co-curated by Susanna Davies-Crook and Tina M. Campt, this day of events will explore archives and personal histories, as well as sonic and contextual ephemera, creating a space for collective reflection on the significance of the personal as political and the archive as a powerful site of transformation.
Reserve your space.
Discover more about Spring at the Barbican: Concrete Garden.
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Conservatory facts
- The Conservatory was designed by the Barbican’s architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, and surrounds the Barbican Theatre’s fly tower, from which scenery for productions taking place on the stage six stories below is lowered into place.
- The roof is constructed of steel and glass and covers 23,000 square feet, providing cover for over 1600 cubic metres of soil, all of which was hand mixed to a specific requirement.
- Two of the three pools accommodate koi, ghost, and grass carp from Japan and America, as well as other cold water fish such as roach, rudd, and tench, whilst the other smaller pool (located outside the Arid House) provides a safe haven for terrapins.
- Planted between 1980 and 1981, and opened in 1984, the Conservatory now houses around 1,500 species of plants and trees, some of which are rare and endangered in their native habitat. The species are a vibrant mix of temperate and arid types ranging from areas as diverse as the rocky deserts and bushland of South Africa to the coastline of Brazil.
- A varied assortment of the extraordinary flora from around the world includes the iconic tree fern, date palm, the Swiss cheese plant, and coffee and ginger plants all under one roof.
Hire enquiries
The Conservatory is available to hire for events, conferences, photoshoots, weddings and more.
