Library Buildings around the World

Libraries:
Idea Store, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, London – UK 2006
Group study spaces, Equipment provision, Open learning provision, Hosting of other agencies, Audiovisual/Multimedia areas, Baby
changing facilities, Public address system
Conversion and refurbishment of a car park within new Churchill Mall. The borough's 4th Idea Store, the facilities include state-ofthe-art
learning spaces and classrooms, quick access internet terminals, baby changing room and wheelchair accessible toilets.
(http://database.designinglibraries.org.uk)
Dixon Jones Ltd., London – UK
http://www.dixonjones.co.uk
Libraries :
17 December 2009
By John Morgan
UCU voices concern at the loss when the university is trying to make 6% savings. John Morgan writes
University College London has lost £6 million on plans for a cultural institute after financial worries forced it to abandon the project.
UCL's accounts for the year ended 31 July 2009 reveal a loss of £5.95 million on its Institute for Cultural Heritage project, which was
to occupy a purpose-built "landmark" building at its Bloomsbury campus.
In a statement, UCL says that it had "reluctantly concluded that, in the present economic climate, it should not press ahead with its
proposed new building for an Institute for Cultural Heritage in its original form".
Half the losses came from clearing the site, while "some of the remaining costs on project management and design fees have had to
be written off", it says.
The University and College Union, which is opposing possible job cuts at UCL, said the university cannot afford such a loss when it
is pushing for 6 per cent savings.
Sean Wallis, branch secretary, said: "When UCL is asking staff to count every penny, it is rather distressing to see it has spent £6
million on moving gravel."
The university secured a £1 million gift from the MBI Al Jaber Foundation for the proposed institute and would have won £5 million
from the Heritage Lottery Fund had the scheme gone ahead.
But the university decided it could not provide sufficient funds to match the lottery grant.
Had it been built, the institute would have created a new home for four of UCL's most important collections, including the Petrie
Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and library archives that feature George Orwell's manuscripts.
When the plans were announced in 2007, the university said the venture would widen public access to the collections, bringing a
fourfold increase in visitor numbers.
A UCL spokesman said the university was "going through a master-planning exercise for viable alternative approaches, to see if we
can create some of the facilities originally planned for the institute by remodelling existing buildings and spaces". He added that
some supporters of the project were willing to transfer their investment to the revised proposals.
The spokesman described the site, which is in Gordon Street, as "UCL's last remaining development site on our Bloomsbury
campus", adding that the work carried out was necessary "for any future building on the site".
He also said that much of the planning and design work "will be essential to inform future developments", meaning that it was not
possible to determine the sum that will be written off entirely.
Elizabeth Clear, UCU branch president, said: "Because of the job cuts, we feel it's an enormous amount of money to have lost."
She added that the collections were "amazing" and deserved wider public access, but that UCL "did not consider the full
implications" of its expensive plans.
john.morgan@tsleducation.com. (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk)
SAID Business School, Oxford University, Oxford – UK 1997 – 2001 / 2006 - 2011
The School’s Library and Information Services comprise the two-floor state-of-the-art Sainsbury Library and the award-winning
Virtual Library, an electronic gateway to a wealth of business information. The Sainsbury Library’s lower floor contains the library
and IT helpdesk, a short loan collection, a rolling stack, an informal seating area and over 40 study desks, many of which are
equipped with PCs. The upper reading room, with its distinctive vaulted ceiling and impressive views, is intended for quiet research
and holds 90 fully-networked study desks.
Darwin College Study Centre, Cambridge University, Cambridge – UK 1989 – 1994
Awards:
RIBA Award 1994
The site, a long narrow rectangle, lies between the curve of Silver Street and the Cam millpool. On the street side, the
building is low and appears to emerge from the existing curved boundary wall. The interior of the building is like one
large piece of furniture are all made of oak. The structure uses sections of a size that were only available “green”
(i.e. unseasoned). The timber cas cut and driet for the project, but moisture contents reamin in the range of 25 to 60%,
and the structure will continue to dry for several years. The timber joints which transfer load use a system of stainless
steel fixings to allow the joints to be tightended as the timber dries. The dominant aspect of the interior space comes
from the geometry of the roof. The straight line in the plan generated by the waterside and echoed by the clerestory
is set against the curved wall to Silver Street. The inside of the curved wall is lined with books, while the rafters forming
the roof reconcile the straight line to the curve and generate a gentle three dimensional curved plane when seen in
perspective. The main reading room is a space that extends from ground floor to the first floor, and overlooks the river.
(Dixon Jones)
DJD Architects, Worcester – UK
http://www.djdarchitects.co.uk
Libraries:
King´s St. Alban´s Junior School, Worcester – UK 2005
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