Library Buildings around the World

RMJM (Robert Mathew Johnson Marshall), Edinburgh – London – UK
http://www.rmjm.com
( see also: Hillier – operating under the RMJM name since 2008 )
Libraries:
Ebbisham Library and Lifestyle Centre (Epsom Library), Epsom, Surrey – UK 2001
Library: 1.392 m², ₤ 3.300.000
The Ebbisham Centre is a combination of public and private facilities made possible by collaboration between Epsom and Ewell
Borough Council and Surrey County Council. The Centre aims to foster the general health and well-being of the local community
through offering a wide variety of social, recreational and leisure activities. The Ebbisham Centre accommodates Epsom Library,
The Derby Medical Practice, Chapters Café and a Lifestyle Pilates Studio, whilst offering a variety of bars and restaurants within
the two squares. For meetings and conferences there are six especially designated rooms for business use and local groups. The
Centre incorporates modern, meeting rooms and exhibition space including The Zone, a large separate area for presentations,
exhibitions and sports activities, and The Spa Lounge, an area where community groups can meet and enjoy social activities.
The Ebbisham Centre aims to provide a wide range of community facilities in order to encourage individuals and families to
participate in new interests, whilst focusing on a holistic approach to health and well-being. The whole development has been
designed be user friendly and provide easy access for all ages and abilities. To complete a visit to The Ebbisham Centre, users can
enjoy a wide range of refreshments and delicious food at Chapters Café conveniently situated next to the Library.
( http://www.theebbishamcentre.org.uk )
Information Commons, Sheffield University Library – UK 2007
RMJM was appointed by the University of Sheffield in November 2003 as architect and lead consultant for the
£ 23 million Information Commons project. This 11.500 m² building provides a 24/7 integrated learning
environmentr for undergraduate and post graduate students. It provides 1.350 new study spaces where students
can study individually or in groups, using print and electronic materials. It has been designed to accomodate
current and future learning methods and technologies. The Information Commons building is situated in the
heart of the Sheffield´s urban campus, which was the subject of a development framework study by RMJM.
(RMJM)
(http://www.shef.ac.uk/infocommons_prospective/)
see also:
University Town Library, University Shenzhen – China 2007
Awards:
2007: AIA Hong Kong Chapter Merit Award
2008: The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, International Architecture
2008: Hong Kong Design Centre - Design for Asia Merit Award
The Building was completed in December 2006 and opened to the public early 2007 and provides a new perspective on
sharing resources while acting as a gateway icon. The Library designed by RMJM serves four university campuses spread
on either side of a canal. The building itself acts as a bridge linking these previously disconnected facilities. Students, staff
and the wider community are free to pass through and over the building to make this connection. Its 480m long
undulating form mirrors the topography of the landscape while its dragon-like shape, contemporary materials and
function aim to refl ect the erudite language of education. Glazed façades encourage views out to the surroundings, while
providing layers of sun-shading to reduce heat gain on library spaces within. The Library was designed to hold 1.5 million
books, 3000 seats, 1700 data ports and 8000 visitors daily and sits on a 51,600m2 site area in the suburb of Shenzhen.
( http://www.detail.de )
The scheme is a new 'gateway icon' for the campus shared by the graduate schools of Peking University, Tsinghua
University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Nankai University.
The University Town Library provides a new perspective on sharing resources: the library serves three university campuses
pread on either side of a canal. The building itself acts as a bridge linking these previously disconnected facilities.
Students, staff and the wider community are free to pass through and over the building to make this connection. Its 480m
long undulating form mirrors the topography of the landscape while its dragon-like shape, contemporary materials and
function aim to reflect the erudite language of education.
Glazed façades encourage views out to the surroundings, while providing layers of sun-shading to reduce heat gain on
library spaces within. The library was designed to hold 1.5 million books, 3,000 seats, 1,700 data ports and 8,000 visitors
daily and sits on a 51,600 sqm site in the city of Shenzhen. (RMJM)
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, London – UK
http://www.rsh-p.com
Libraries:
Library Thames Valley University (TVU), Slough – UK 1993 – 1996
Awards:
Civic Trust Award 1997
RIBA Architecture in Education Award 1997
RIBA Award 1997
Structural Steel Design Award 1997
Thames Valley University (TVU) is one of a number of new British universities developed from former further education institutions
in the 1990s. The existing campus at Slough, developed from the 1950s on, was undistinguished, with poor public spaces and
indistinct circulation routes, and isolated from the town centre by a main highway and railway line. The practice was asked to carry
out a masterplan for the future development of the campus and to identify a site for the proposed learning resource centre,
essentially a library but with provision for the use of computers, videos and other new information technology as well as books. The
university wanted a clearly accessible building which could be built to a tight budget and a fast construction programme. The
completed building is both straightforward (in terms of its simple diagram, balancing a "warehouse" storage area with an open
reading and reception space) and highly memorable. The linear, three-storey bookstack block is contained within a fair-faced in situ
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