Library Buildings around the World

Long & Kentish architects, London – UK
http://www.longkentish.com
Libraries:
Oxford Brookes University, New Library and teaching building, Oxford-Headington Hill – UK 1997 –
2013
£ 14.000.000 8.500 sqm
The 8,500sqm project includes reading and bookstacks for the Headington Hill campus of the University. The site is adjacent to a
listed manor house surrounded by mature landscaping and commands spectacular views over the dreaming spires of Oxford.
The design of the project has been progressed to a feasibility stage for fundraising and to obtain the support of the local planning
authority. (Long)
The British Library. Centre for Conservation, London St. Pancras – UK 2003 – 2007
£ 13.500.000 2.600 sqm
This project was won as a result of an European design competition during 2003. The British Library's brief was to build a worldclass
Centre for Conservation on a site immediately north of their existing building at St Pancras. The centre houses book and paper
conservation facilities and the British Library Sound Archive. It also has a mission to convey and teach the special techniques of
conservation. Each of these require very particular conditions like good working north light and acoustic isolation. At the north end
of the existing building, the lowest two floors are occupied by back-of-house functions and a large loading bay. Publicly accessible
space in the existing library starts at first floor level, with an extended outside terrace facing the new building. This terrace also
covers the service yard and creates a new focus for any future Library expansion on adjacent sites. (Long)
University of Brighton, Falmer Centre for Learning and Teaching, Brighton – UK 2001
£ 3.500.000 3.150 sqm
Following the success of The Aldrich Library, Long & Kentish was asked to look at the University's Falmer campus which was
originally built in the 1960's, and is coming to the end of its life. We did the first two replacement buildings which established some
principles for building on the steep north facing slope, and suggested a palette of materials. The new learning resource centre on the
University of Brighton's Falmer campus includes a library. The building is designed to make best use of the sloping site and the
dramatic views to the northwest. (Long)
The British Library, London St. Pancras – UK 1975 – 1997
£ 500.000.000 120.000 sqm
The British Library was voted one of the six most popular buildings of the millennium in a popular poll, and it was short listed for
the Stirling Prize. Included in the accommodation are extensive exhibition galleries (fitted out by the architects), two restaurants, a
café, a catering kitchen, and education rooms. The building is remarkable for its attention to detail. People who use it comment on
the pleasure it gives to the sense of touch with its carefully shaped natural materials: wood, stone, brass, and leather. It has been
called the last 'handmade' public building in Britain. It is also unusual for the ease with which its geography can be comprehended
by the visitor. In spite of its size, most of the building's public destinations are visible from its point of entry, and little use has to be
made of orientation plans. The routes through the building are natural and inviting. M.J. Long was a partner of Colin St. John
Wilson & Partners, and was the co-designer of the building. She was the author of the overall building plan, and took particular
responsibility for the client's brief and the natural and artificial light which are so important to the character of the building
interiors. Rolfe Kentish was the associate responsible for organizing the design team to produce the entire set of construction
documents for the final stage of construction. (Long)
University of Brighton, Aldrich Library, Brighton – UK 1996
£ 4.000.000 4.853 sqm
This commission was won in a design competition. The Aldrich Library is now seen as the flagship building of the Mousecoombe
campus (it can be seen on the front page of the University website). The form of the building responds equally to the pressures of the
site and the organisation of the library. It acts as a 'marker', to highlight the corner of the campus, and achieves its architectural
significance not through its size (because it is less overbearing than its 1960 's neighbour) but through the animation of its form.
Inside, the readers are located next to north and east facing windows, while the southern and western sun is excluded by the masonry
walls that enclose the book stacks. The building is ventilated naturally as air comes in through a purpose designed light shelf which
also sound-attenuates traffic noise from adjacent roads. Variations in the visual environment are created with a carefully designed
system of artificial lighting, and natural materials are used as much as possible. The result is an economical building which
reproduces the feel of a large-budget commision. The project also involved a partial renovation the 60 's building to which the
library is attached, and includes a bookshop, refectory and cafe. (Long)
Harold Washington Center, Chicago, IL – USA 1988 – 1992
$ 144.000.000 75.000 sqm
Literature:
Chicago Tribune, 15 September 1991 'Chicago to build nation's largest municipal library'
AIA Journal, July-August 1988
The new 75,000sqm public library houses 2 million books. 8,600 current periodicals and a winter garden on the top floor.
The fixed elements of the building are confined to the perimeter, creating a flexible 'loft' in the tradition of the commercial
buildings of the Chicago loop around the turn of the century. MJ Long and Colin St John Wilson worked as design
consultants to Hammond Beeby and Babka LC (Long)
Lynch Architects, London – UK
http://www.lyncharchitects.com
Kingsgate House, Victoria Library, Housing, Office, London – UK 2018
Literature:
Ellis Woodman, ‘Lynch proposes 'modern palazzo' opposite Victoria Station’, Building Design, Issue 1971 (24 June 2011)
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