Packing the Barbican: Art Meets Engineering

Last week, Purple hibiscusan installation created by artist Ibrahim Mahama, has been unveiled at the Barbican as part of a new exhibition – Unraveling: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art. Buro Happold provided engineering services throughout the project, which involved wrapping the Barbican in 2,300m² of fabric.

Reusing materials is a key topic of conversation across all industries, including art and engineering, as the UK strives to meet its net zero emissions targets. For Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, the reuse of materials and his deep interest in the life cycles of textiles demonstrate what can be learned from the historical memories embedded in them.

The 2,300m² of fabric, which engulfed the Barbican in a vibrant purple color, is embroidered with batakarisa, a traditional Ghanaian men's garment originating from the north of the country. The fabric was hand-woven in a collective effort with hundreds of artisans in Tamale, northern Ghana.

The work also references the 2003 novel, Purple Hibiscus, by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In the book, the purple hibiscus symbolizes freedom and hope for oppressed people.

Collaboration has been one of the greatest successes of this installation

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, Buro Happold

We worked with the artist and the Barbican to help install this incredible work of art. The Buro Happold project team included Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, Emily McDonald, Associate, Will Pearn and Maxime Chollet, Senior Structural Engineers.

The Barbican Building itself is a listed building and therefore no physical connection to the building was permitted, which was the main challenge of this project as the team had to consider how to utilize the mass of the building to restrict the 2,300 m² of fabric.

Buro Happold provided structural engineering services and designed a solution that adopted tension lines that hugged the building, allowing the team to mobilize the mass of the building to hold the structure.

The team also sought to securely attach the fabric to the stress lines by introducing a fabric panel pattern, a textile designers approach with a mesh backing to reinforce it. The fabric was then sewn into position using additional tension lines and straps around the existing building, with the ends secured at lake level with kentledge (large concrete weight), to ensure the fabric was secure at agreed design wind speeds.

One of the other challenges was how the fabric would withstand the force of the wind. The team provided a wind management strategy, researching and testing reinforcements against the calculated wind speed of 19 m/s. This strategy consisted of minimizing the impact of wind on the fabric panels in order to reduce the forces exerted on the supporting structure.

On this specific part of the work, Buro Happold worked closely with Millemeter – specialist contractors who are experts in this type of art installation. Each week during the opening of the exhibition, the Buro Happold team will provide the Barbican with a report giving wind speed forecasts and instructions on wind management.

Buro Happold's culture is to address challenges and find solutions through our in-house expertise.

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, Buro Happold

Anton telling us how Buro Happold was involved from the start of the project: We are involved in the main Barbican renewal project so these smaller projects are a nice bonus.

We were involved with the artist from the beginning to understand how we could construct and construct their artwork and turn the concept into reality. For projects of this nature, we must deconstruct them to understand the construction sequence and ensure they can be built safely.

This approach to design was really important and the culture at Buro Happold is to tackle challenges and find solutions through our in-house expertise.

Collaboration has been one of the greatest successes of this installation. These were like-minded people wanting to deliver this piece and we pushed the boundaries of traditional construction methods in several ways.

Buro Happold also released the cutting patterns, which were then sent to Ghana and, in tandem, were stitched together by the artisans. Once the exhibition is over, all fabrics will be returned to Ghana for use within the community and for other installations.

Anton said: For all installation elements we have tried to use commercially available or rental products, which can be reused by the rigging team and the Barbican as required. Many products will be recycled.

Ibrahim and the Barbican were very kind with their words and thanked Buro Happold for their key design leadership.

Anton Sawicki, Design Project Director, Buro Happold

The opening event brought together people from several sectors to celebrate this incredible project.

Anton said: The opening event was a success, with the weather being good to allow visitors to view the Purple Hibiscus in its final glory.

Ibrahim and the Barbican were very kind with their words and thanked Buro Happold for his design leadership which made the installation possible.

Working with the Buro Happold team was a pleasure

Matt Ridsdale, Director, Millimeter

Matt Ridsdale, Director of Millimeter, said: We were approached by Buro Happold to help us develop the installation strategy for Purple hibiscus. Our teams met often and face-to-face, in a creative and cooperative approach – and the strategy developed at a steady pace. Working with the Buro Happold team has been a pleasure.

We are delighted to present Purple hibiscus by Ibrahim Mahama.

Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican

Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts at the Barbican, said: Following Ranjani Shettars' exquisite commission for the Barbican Conservatoire, we are delighted to present Purple hibiscus by Ibrahim Mahama.

In a time of increasing divide and disharmony, Mahama, with this monumental site-specific artwork, the second in our new commission series, will transform the Barbicans' iconic Lakeside into a site and space for community commemoration , intergenerational memory and solidarity, all achieved by the incredible capabilities and capacities of the human hand.

Purple hibiscus will be visible until the 18th^th August 2024.