Library Buildings around the World

Stoke 6 th Form College, Stoke-on-Trent - UK 2010
The City of Stoke on Trent is embarking on an exciting journey - a state of the art development which incorporates world class
resources and design features to provide outstanding learning facilities for young people across the city and beyond. Innovative
Design will encapsulate the essence of a dynamic learning environment which will capture the imagination of our young people and
promote interactive learning. ( http://www.stokesfc.ac.uk )
University of Leeds, Law scholl Leeds, Leeds – UK 2009 – 2010
The University of Leeds School of Law has carved itself an enviable reputation for learning, teaching and research since its
foundation in 1899. Unusually for a non-Oxbridge university, its alumni occupy some of the highest legal offices and presently
include the Lord Chancellor and Minister for Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions. But a new golden age for legal
scholarship at Leeds is now beckoning. Work is due to start on a £12m purpose-built home for the school, which will cement its
reputation by providing staff and students with world-class facilities. State-of-the-art teaching and research space, and a moot court
incorporating the latest technology will sit alongside a law and community centre to support the school’s pro-bono work.
The building will bolster the school’s already strong track record of recruiting and retaining the best staff, students and researchers
and expand the work it does in the wider community. The new building will place the school at the heart of Leeds’ legal community,
and boost its reputation for excellence both nationally and internationally. The city of Leeds is synonymous with the legal sector. A
large and diverse range of legal practises are based there, alongside major criminal justice courts, a cluster of financial services
businesses and the renowned University of Leeds School of Law. Such a concentration of activity gives the School of Law a distinct
advantage over many of its main competitors in the UK and its new home aims to capitalise upon this. The new building will have
outstanding facilities - a moot court, which will be used for vocational learning and teaching and to test out the latest technology as
part of the School’s Court21 project looking at the impact of IT on the process of justice. A Law and Community Centre will support
pro bono work with youth offenders, on asylum and with schools. It will also be used extensively for the Innocence project, which
involves undergraduates carrying out investigative work into real cases where wrongful convictions are suspected. Dedicated study
areas for researchers and visiting scholars, graduate students and undergraduates will provide work stations, document storage, a
basic library and social space. State-of-the-art seminar rooms will also be used for CPD courses for lawyers and other professionals.
The building will boost academic research as well as enhance learning and teaching. In 2008’s Research Assessment Exercise - which
measures the quality of research – the school was ranked amongst the top Law Schools in England in terms of the volume of
outstanding research activity of international standard. New chairs in international fields and new postgraduate courses in
international law are helping to develop a shared focus on global law and justice in the 21st century. The new building will further
provide an environment for researchers from the School’s four research centres - Business Law & Practice, Criminal Justice
(including Cyberlaw), European Law & Legal Studies, and International Governance (including Human Rights) – to collaborate on
research projects. ( http://www.leeds.ac.uk )
Previously housed in scattered, outdated accommodation, the new School of Law will provide the faculty with state of the art
working and learning facilities within an environmentally-responsive building. The new building will help to reinforce the School of
Law's standing to the academic and professional communities, as well as to prospective students. It will furthermore strengthen
linkages with other faculties as a key part of the University's professional campus. The building's design has been generated from the
environmental issues unique to its site. We have explored several measures that would put the building at the forefront of energy
efficient design including using passive solar gain to reduce heating energy, biomass power generation, facade and window design to
maximize natural daylight and minimize glare, stack system natural ventilation and strategies to minimize heat loss through the
building fabric. (Broadway)
£ 14.000.000, 3.000 m²
University of Salford, Law Faculty, Salford, Manchester – UK 2008
A new £6.8m law faculty building extension opened in February, as part of a £150m upgrade to the University of Salford. The
opening ceremony was attended by Shami Chakrabarti CBE, director of human rights group Liberty, and Lady Brenda Hale, the
UK's first and only female law lord, whom the new Salford Law School's purpose-built Lady Hale Building is named after.
Sustainable both during construction and for the lifetime of the building Buro Happold carried out the structural engineering design
for this elegant building, and every effort was made to ensure sustainability, both during construction and for the lifetime of the
building. Crucially, it uses a Trespa cladding system – a by-product of the timber industry, 70 percent of whose mass comes from
cellulose sourced from managed forests. For lifelong sustainability, Deltabeams were used on the first and second floors, maximising
the benefits of the TermoDeck heating, cooling and ventilating system by allowing air to circulate through the floor planks and the
beams. This maximises use of the natural heat storage capacity of the hollow core slabs, minimising energy consumption.
The cantilevered area of the second floor is interesting from both a structural and an aesthetic point of view too, as it is supported by
the roof beams: deep, cellular beams which support the cantilever floor through perimeter-hung columns. Tripping the light
fantastic – inflatable bubbles create a colourful light display One of the most notable aesthetic features of the faculty is a colourful
ETFE system surrounding the lecture theatre. “The building is clad with inflatable bubbles of ETFE (ethyl-tetrafluorethylene),” said
Andrea Manenti, Buro Happold’s job leader on the scheme. “Coloured lights shine through it from an LED lighting system housed
between the wall and the bubbles, to spectacular effect.” ETFE is highly sustainable too: compared to glass, ETFE films are 1% of
the weight, transmit more light and cost 24% to 70% less to install. ETFE is also resilient (able to bear 400 times its own weight),
self-cleaning – thanks to its nonstick surface – and totally recyclable. “We are very proud of our involvement in this landmark
building,” said Manenti, “and the EFTE pillows make a pleasing architectural contrast with the panels of the Trespa cladding
system on the main building.” Project team: Client: University of Salford, Architect: Broadway Malyan, Buro Happold services:
Structural Engineering, Main contractor: Bardsley Construction ( http://www.burohappold.com )
Bold use of form and colour has given the new Salford School of Law at the University of Salford an iconic new look. The 2,500m²
scheme features a new library which projects over two lower floors of faculty teaching and social space, office space for lecturers and
administrative staff and a mock court. A distinctive ETFE clad lecture theatre adjoins the main building providing additional
flexible space for the University, and acting as a beacon on the highly visible corner site. Responding to the client's brief, the design
aims to minimise the use of energy during the life of the building, to maximise the use of natural ventilation and lighting and to
optimise zone control and sub-metering to enhance long term performance monitoring. A Termodeck system has been used, utilising
the concrete hollow floor decks of the building to distribute air to each zone. Using night operation of the ventilation system these
slabs are cooled or heated as required, thus minimizing the need for mechanical plant and associated energy use. In order for this
system to operate effectively the building envelope has been carefully designed, detailed and insulated to a high degree, exceeding
current Part L requirements. The ETFE cladding of the lecture theatre is continuously inflated by a small pump that maintains the
air pressure. Thirty LED lights are evenly distributed and concealed behind the cladding and shine upwards at a tilted, reflectively
painted board to create the even light treatment to the ETFE. They are computer programmed from inside the building, and the
bulbs can change to any colour across a spectrum, either as a still colour or a rippling effect. Phased construction works enabled
minimum disruption, and off site construction techniques helped to fast track the programme enabling completion to be achieved on
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