Library Buildings around the World

shelving space for books, a new workshop for book repairs and new spaces for art-book and journal collections. Even were the
transport system with new stairs and lifts as well as the redesigned main entrance hall and the members. (http://www.baunetz.de)
The London Library, T.S. Eliot House, London Library Phase 1, London –UK 2007
Client: The London Library, Construction Cost: £3.1M
T S Eliot House is the first phase of a masterplan to refurbish and develop the London Library in St James's Square. The purchase
of an adjacent 1970s office block - despite its lack of architectural quality - offered an opportunity to expand without moving services
off site. Its refurbishment provides a conservation studio, staff areas and additional bookstacks, so freeing up space for future
redevelopment in the main building. The design challenge has been to find a strong contemporary language which works alongside
the quirky and characterful architecture of the London Library itself. “The whole team have worked tirelessly to create and deliver
a thoughtful and sustainable solution to the Library's perennial need for space, whilst taking care to ensure that this new wing
merges seamlessly into the much loved existing London Library labyrinth.”Inez Lynn, Chief Executive, The London Library
Internally, it was stripped back to its concrete shell, and internal finishes have a raw quality to reflect this. New toilets were designed
in collaboration with Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed. This created a conceptual dialogue to think specifically about the
way in which the atmosphere of the building might be amplified and articulated by the new proposals. Meanwhile, significant
changes were achieved to the nondescript brick elevation facing Mason's Yard by remodelling the nondescript 1970s elevation with
distinctive projecting windows, flush pointed brickwork, and a black render and lush glass ground floor base. (Haworth)
Hopkins Architects, London – UK
http://www.hopkins.co.uk
Libraries:
Brent Civic Center, Wembley, London – UK 2009 – 2013
Plans for the greenest civic centre in the country have received unanimous approval from Brent Council’s planning committee. The
new centre will be a landmark building designed by award-winning Hopkins Architects Town planning. Environmental, structural
design and sustainable technology advice was provided by specialist consultants Scott Wilson. The new Civic Centre – the first ever
civic building to be built by Brent Council – has been designed to be the greenest civic building in the country. It is set to be situated
in the heart of the Wembley regeneration area opposite Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. The nine-storey building will
accommodate around 2,000 Brent Council staff and for the first time ever, all Brent Council services will be delivered from one
building. Half the building will provide a range of new facilities for the local community to use. These include a multi-purpose foyer
with grand civic steps, a flexible community hall for up to 1,000 people, a new library and learning centre, a winter garden and a
smaller Civic Hall with an external terrace and a café. There will also be an expanded Registrar’s service with a wedding suite and
wedding garden. The building aims to achieve BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ through a combination of solar shading, natural ventilation,
façade performance and combined cooling, heating and power utilizing waste vegetable oil. It also intends to use the new
development to encourage greener habits locally and set new standards of sustainability for other developers to follow. The building
is due to be completed in mid 2013 with building work planned to start on site in late 2010. (http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com)
The Forum, Norwich – UK 2001
After a fire destroyed the Norwich Library in 1994, a Millenium Project was initiated to re-house it, together local visitor and
business centres, a 'Heritage' exhibition and shop, bar and restaurant and the local BBC station - 'Look East'. The old library site
was combined with the adjacent car park to form a complete city block, surrounded by civic buildings. The Forum is conceived as a
courtyard surrounded by a three storey, horseshoe-shaped enclosure of loadbearing brickwork, which accommodates the various
activities on a series of balconies. The courtyard roof is supported by bow-string steel trusses forming leaf shaped panels, infilled
with acoustically absorbent material or glazing. Light enters into the heart of the building, creating a dynamic public atrium.
(Hopkins)
Djanogly Learning Resource Centre, Jubilee Campus University of Nottingham, Nottingham – UK 1999
The Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly Learning Resource Centre (or the Djanogly LRC) is a library on the Jubilee Campus of the
University of Nottingham, England. The library houses books and resources relating to education and computer science. It also
housed books relating to the Business School, prior to their move to a specific Business library in 2004. The library is an unusual
circular building situated on an island platform in the middle of the campus lake. It was designed by the architect Sir Michael
Hopkins, with the striking feature of having only a single floor, which spirals its way up and around the circumference of the
building. It was initially rumoured to be sinking because the architects had forgotten to account for the weight of its books, but
whatever the truth of this rumour, any problem has now been fixed. The library was named after the philanthropists Sir Harry and
Lady Djanogly who gave a significant contribution towards the cost of its construction. Sir Harry is the father of Jonathan Djanogly
the MP for Huntingdon. (http://en.academic.ru)
Kroon Building, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT – USA
2009
The Kroon Building — future home of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies — will set a new standard for
sustainable architecture when it breaks ground this winter. Professor Stephen Kellert of the environmental school met with
members of the Yale community at Sage Hall yesterday to present plans for the $40 million project. The project will bring 50,000
square feet of environmental sustainability to a site currently occupied by the Pierson-Sage Power Plant on Science Hill.
environment.yale.edu
A simulation of the colonnade in the proposed Kroon building showcases its extensively “green” architecture. The building will
house the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.Kellert, who recently won the “Outstanding Contributions to Research”
award from the North American Association for Environmental Education, said the building will serve as an example for the
community. “We preach the gospel of sustainability, and we don’t practice it very well,” Kellert said. “This building teaches what it
aspires to accomplish. … We hope we can catalyze the movement of Yale toward a more sustainable institution.” Environment
school professor Marian Chertow FES ’00 said she is enthusiastic about the way the Kroon building is paving the way for green
building and energy conservation. The environment school is striving to be a leader in sustainable architecture both for the
University, which has many large, inefficient buildings, and in the discipline more widely, Chertow said. “We’re trying to get the
university aware, and in our own field we’re trying to do some experimental things … [to push] the envelope of what hasn’t been
done before,” she said. The Kroon building plans meet the platinum rating for the Green Building Rating System of Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design. Kellert said Hopkins Architects, the London firm in charge of the project, designed the structure
with strict environmental objectives in mind, especially climate neutrality, energy efficiency, renewable energy production and
minimal pollution. The architecture will do much of the work in terms of lighting, heating and cooling, he said. “It will provide a
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