Library Buildings around the World

drdharchitects, London – UK
http://www.drdharchitects.co.uk
Libraries:
Kulturhus and Bibliothek, Bodø - Norway Competition 2014
1st Prize in International Competition, Client: Bodø Kommune, Area: 6,300m², Construction Cost: £25 million, Design
Period: 2009 – 2011, Completion Date: 2014
Awards:
Highly Commended, AR MIPIM 2010 Future Projects Awards
DRDH was awarded the design of a new Library for the city of Bodø in northern Norway. The invitation followed on from a
previous open competition for the masterplan of the city’s Cultural Quarter in 2008, which the practice won. The City
Library is one of two principal buildings within the Cultural Quarter, alongside a Concert Hall and Theatre also being
designed by DRDH. Both buildings respond to the particularities of their context, situated between city and landscape,
whilst maintaining a familial relationship that creates an urban ensemble. Externally, both façades display a trabeated
construction of pre-cast concrete, with an aggregate of local white stone. Forms rhyme between them. Roofs and towers
speak to one another and the library establishes a horizon, across which the Concert Hall surveys the dramatic landscape of
sea and mountains. Internally however the buildings offer quite different characters. The principal spaces of the Library
describe an open internal landscape, which focuses upon the main reading space with its glazed elevation to the harbour.
The building includes a number of other community functions including a flexible performance space, a gallery, a
multifunction room and a café. These are defined as a series of rooms that face the city streets. The building is open to both
the city and the harbour, with entrances connected by an internal street. The childrens library, at the top of the building, is
more intimate, nestled beneath an inverted roof form and focused around an external play court. Throughout the detailed
design stages, the project has been coordinated through extensive use of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The
proposal is currently at construction stage and is due to be completed in 2014. (drdh)
Dyer Associates, London – Edinburgh – UK
http://www.groupdyer.com
The learning landscape is changing. We understand that good design can motivate, attract and retain
Both learners and staff. We have extensive experience in delivering flexible, accessible, and welcome
Facilities for all types od educators, providing serices from strategic advice and masterplanning to fit-
out, refurbishment and the design of flagship newbuild campuses. (Dyer)
Libraries:
Walsall College, Business & Learning Campus – UK 2009
Client Walsall College, Size 24,000m2 / 258,000sqft, Location Walsall, West Midlands, UK, Value £35m, Procurement
Design & Build with Novation, Complete May 2009
This is the flagship project of a major regeneration programme to establish Walsall as a hub for business, learning and enterprise.
Built near the college’s existing town centre site, it plays an important role in creating a new urban image for the Midlands town.
The development comprises an extensive new landmark building integrating learning facilities with the essential infrastructure of a
thriving modern campus. With input from multiple stakeholders (public and private), it is a model for partnership working,
promoting engagement with employers and the wider community. We are aiming for a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’.
The campus is located on the axis of a new public thoroughfare, set back from the streetline on a landscaped plaza. It is organised
over five levels into two main wings: vocational (west); general learning (east). The floorplates provide optimum efficiency,
accessibility and flexibility. The wings feed off a central hub arranged around a five storey atrium and new public plaza. Its network
of shared facilities includes offices, retail, catering and leisure units and a large learning resource centre. It is also a ‘shop window’
for the college’s professional academies, which are equipped to the highest industry standards. (Dyer)
Qeen Margret University College, Edinburgh – UK 2008
Dyer Associates is recognised as one of the of the UK´s leading design practices with experience in the
education sector. The winning proposals for the new Craighall site focus on the Learning Resource Centre
as a vibrant and dynamic space at the heart of the campus. An internal atrium and open-plan street with
views out to other buildings and to the landscaped parkland will become the QMUG social hub, promoting
a sense of shared learning and collective endeavour. Philip Ball, a design director at Dyer Associates, said:
“ Dyer Associates is extremely excited to have been selected for this prestigious project. We believe it represents
a fantastic opportunity to create a landmark development for QMUC, which will capitalise upon its unique
setting and provide a people-focused learning environment for the 21 st century”.
( http://www.edinburgh.architecture.co.uk/QMUC.htm )
ECD Architects, London – UK
http://www.ecda.co.uk
Libraries:
Trent University, Boots Library, Nottingham – UK 1998
₤ 13.000.000
The library occupies a triangular site in the centre of Nottingham. The 5 storey building provides 9000m2 of accommodation
planned around a central tear drop shaped atrium. In addition a 360 seat lecture theatre is located at basement level. Heating and
cooling are provided by means of a Termodec system utilising the thermal mass of hollow core concrete floor slabs. (ECD)
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