Library Buildings around the World

strong analytical approach with sympathy for the historical context of the site. We are confident that they will develop a design
which will give users of the humanities library a fantastic space to work in.’
Four practices were invited to participate in the competition, which was set up by Oxford University and PDCM, from an initial long
list of twelve: Bennetts Associates Architects, David Chipperfield Architects, KPF and Wilkinson Eyre.
A spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: ‘The University has been hugely impressed by the effort made by the architects
and the quality of ideas from each practice. The architects went through a rigorous selection process over several months including
visits to their offices by the Project Sponsor Group, building visits, user group workshops and finally interviews.’’
The architect Rab Bennetts said: ‘We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with the Humanities Division and
University to create a development of this significance on such an important site. Our competition proposals for open quads and
gardens reinterpret the historic grain of Oxford and provide a strong identity for the library. We also explored space syntax,
daylight, natural ventilation and good views to create the best possible educational environment.’ (http://www.ox.ac.uk)
University of Stirling, Library Refurbishment – UK 2006
Client University of Stirling, Area 7,000m², Value £13 million, Completion 2006
The library was constructed as the centrepiece of an entire campus design on a lovely site at the foot of the Ochil Hills. Although a
fine building it suffered from problems common to buildings of its time. Internal orientation is poor, study options are limited and
the fabric was tired. The stage D report established a course of action and options for refurbishment. The library was built as part of
the University of Stirling campus which opened in 1967. It sits in a prominent position at the centre of the grounds with views to the
rest of the landscaped campus. Currently the library occupies two buildings: the original building and a low extension built later to
the North. The building is placed in the landscape as a series of layered planes. Strips of external glazing allow fabulous views to the
Ochils, the Wallace monument and other parts of the campus over Airthrey Loch. The design of the section is such that large areas
of external glazing are shaded from high sun angles preventing excessive solar gain. Low sun angles are more problematic. Since the
long sides of the building face East and West, glare from sun in the afternoon and in winter is controlled by internal blinds and
curtains. Bennetts Associates reconfigured the existing ad-hoc layout of the library to create an efficient and legible layout that
respected the original design intent of the building. Connections were improved to the University main concourse. The refurbished
building will respond to new ways of learning by providing a menu of study options ranging from group to individual and informal
to formal. (Bennetts)
Central Library and Jubilee Street Development, Brighton, Sussex – UK 1999 – 2005
(see also: Lomax Cassidy Edwards – http://www.lcearch.com)
Shortlisted for the Stirling Prize and awarded Prime Minister's Public Building 2005, the Jubilee Library has also been a great
success with the people of Brighton. Fronting onto the square at the heart of the masterplan, the building makes a welcoming
expression of civic purpose and uses materials and roofscape inspired by the locality. The highly sustainable interior contains
dramatic spaces infused with natural light. The project was built through PFI to a tight budget. (Bennetts)
Bisset Adams, Architecture, Interior, Design, Communications, London – UK
http://www.bissetadams.co.uk
Libraries:
Idea Store Watney Market, London – UK 2012
Client: Tower Hamlets Council, Contract Value: £4.1 Million, Project duration: November 2009 - May 2012
Bisset Adams is currently architect and lead consultant on an ambitious, Big Lottery funded Idea Store on the Commercial Road at
Watney Market, the first of a new generation of Tower Hamlets’ library, learning and information centres, and dubbed ‘a
marketplace of information’ with a range of community and civic partners aiming to provide benefits in health, employment and
learning opportunities for local people. This will be a landmark building on a complex urban site, with a number of key constraints
including the proximity of the East London line, existing adjacent residential flats, relocation of a bus stop and utilities running
through the site. Planning permission has been granted and the project started on site in May 2011.
(http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk)
Nothholt Library, West London – UK 2009 on design
Church Street Library, Westminster, London – UK 2009
Ealing Central Library, Ealing – UK 2008
High Wycombe Library, Buckinghamshire – UK 2008
We were commissioned to produce interior designs and a branding approach for the new High Wycombe library, laid out over three
floors as part of a major new shopping centre. The process involved consultation with the community, stakeholder groups and
with librarians, to ensure the new library met the needs of its users. (Bisset)
Ealing Nothfields Library, Ealing – UK 2007
Grays Library, Thamesside, London – UK 2005
Idea Store, Bow, Tower Hamlets, London – UK 2002
Idea Stores 10 years on: the next generation by Sarah Godowski, Director of Bisset Adams, and Sergio Dogliani, Deputy Head of
Idea Store
1. The Designers’ view by Sarah Godowski
It is now ten years since the first of Tower Hamlets’ ground-breaking Idea Stores opened in Bow, and it’s still seen as one of the best
and most exciting library services in the country, referenced widely as an exemplar of innovative best practice. Bisset Adams has
been involved in the Idea Store programme since 1998, working with Tower Hamlets council to devise a new model for customer
engagement in learning, libraries and the community. The Idea Store programme has been a very different experience from the
designers’ viewpoint, owing largely to the innovative and forward-thinking character of Tower Hamlets council as a client,
understanding the value of design and treating the designer and brand consultant as an integral part of the team. The success of the
Idea Store programme has been largely due to a willingness to explore ideas, with radical results and successful engagement with the
community; local people feel a real sense of ownership of the Idea Stores, and visits, membership and book issues continue to rise.
After the largest-ever public consultation on the future of libraries, the team identified that local people wanted libraries to broaden
their remit: offering better bookstock first and foremost, but also a range of other facilities from café to learning, and in more
convenient locations alongside shopping or transport centres. We at Bisset Adams found early meetings memorable for the freedom
of ideas: at a time when everyone was scratching their heads wondering how to save money on libraries, Tower Hamlets had
recognised their potential and had fixed on the library service as a key partner in a broad learning offer to stimulate regeneration
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