| Library of Birmingham | |
|---|---|
| Libraryofbirmingham.jpg The Library of Birmingham at Centenary Square with Birmingham Rep in foreground |
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| General information | |
| Status | Under construction |
| Type | Library |
| Architectural style | Postmodern / High-Tech |
| Location | Centenary Square |
| Town or city | Birmingham |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 7 January 2010 |
| Completed | 2013 (Expected) |
| Cost | £188.8 million[1] |
| Height | |
| Height | 60m (196 ft)[2] |
| Top floor | 9 (Shakespeare Memorial Room) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Floor area | 31,000m² (333,681sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Birmingham City Council |
| Main contractor | Carillion |
| Architecture firm | Mecanoo |
| Structural engineer | Buro Happold |
The Library of Birmingham is a new library under construction in the city centre of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square beside the Birmingham Rep and Baskerville House. It replaces the old Birmingham Central Library and will provide pedestrian street access extending from Centenary Square to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The new library is near the present central library but the new library is just outside the City Centre Core while the present library is just within the core. It is estimated the new library will cost £188.8 million[1] and is seen by Birmingham City Council as a flagship project for the Redevelopment of Birmingham. A model of the new library is on display on the ground floor of the present Central Library. The library will feature high towers with imposing views of Brimingham, there will be patios with railings designed artistically among other features.
Upon completion, it will be the biggest public library in the country.[3][4]
Contents |
The council has looked into relocating the library for many years. The original plan was to build a new library in the emerging Eastside district,[5] which had been opened up to the city centre following the demolition of Masshouse Circus.[6] A library was designed by Richard Rogers on a site in the area. However, for financial reasons and reservations about the location this plan was shelved. The Council had suggested that the Library be split between a new building built between the Rep theatre and Baskerville House at Centenary Square, which until 2009 was a public car park (to house the main lending library) and a building at Millennium Point in "Eastside" (to house the archives and special collections).
In August 2006, the Council confirmed the area between the Rep and Baskerville House as the future site for the library. Capita Symonds had been appointed as Project Managers for the Library of Birmingham. The council's intention was to create a "world class" landmark civic building in Centenary Square.[7]
Not long after this, the two-sites idea was scrapped and the archives and special collections will move to the site at Centenary Square.[8][9]
After an international design competition, run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, a shortlist of seven architects was announced on 27 March 2008. They were chosen from a list of over 100 architects. The architects chosen were:[10]
In early August 2008, Mecanoo was announced as the winner of the design competition.[11]
More detailed plans for the library were revealed by the council in conjunction with the architects at a launch event held on 2 April 2009.
Reception to the planned library has been overwhelmingly positive. Then-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion said that "These plans are properly ambitious to preserve the best traditional practice, while also opening the building to new ideas about what a library should be - the heart of the community, fulfilling all manner of social needs as well as scholarly, research-based and pleasurable ones." Philip Pullman said "The new Library of Birmingham sounds as if it will be lovely and should attract even more users than the present one with its impressive visitor total of 5,000 a day." Sir Alan Ayckbourn said "I wholeheartedly support the proposed exciting new plans to develop the new Birmingham library" and Irvine Welsh said "[It's] an audacious and compelling initiative which promises to redefine and modernise the entire notion of public library services, and in the process create the greatest public information resource in Europe ... Writers will love it, and so will readers."[12]
Preparation of the ground for building, and archaeological work between Baskerville House and The Rep had begun before planning permission had been granted[13]. Planning permission was finally granted and approved by Birmingham City Council in December 2009. Building work commenced in January 2010, with a completion schedule of mid 2013.[14] A topping out ceremony to mark the completion of the highest part of the building took place on 14 September 2011.
The library will utilise an "aquifer ground source system" as a source of energy. Cold groundwater will be pumped up from within the earth and used in the air conditioning system. The water will then flow back into the ground via another drilled well. The use of groundwater as a source of renewable energy will lower the library's CO2 emissions.[15]
In the meantime, the existing Central Library failed for the second time to gain status as a listed building. When the new library in Centenary Square is finished in 2013, immediate work is scheduled to begin on knocking down the current building to make way for the redevelopment of Paradise Circus.[16]