Library Buildings around the World

concrete frame. The reception and reading area is covered by a curved steel roof structure, fully glazed at each end and with a 40m
long window opening extending the length of the reading room and providing views of a new external pond. Solar control is provided
by internal motorised fabric blinds. Ventilation is primarily non-mechanical. The tough finishes and strong colours of this striking
building, which cost just £3.6 million including new landscaping, recalls Rogers' work of the Sixties and early Seventies, not least in
its references to the metallic aesthetic of the Case Study houses programme. (Rogers)
Law Court, Antwerp – Belgium 2006
Antwerp’s New Law Courts will be a catalyst for RRP’s long-term masterplan for the new ‘Zuid’.
The site for the Law Courts is the Bolivarplaats, on the southern edge of Antwerp’s central area, where the urban fabric is
broken by a massive motorway interchange, cutting off the boulevard that leads into the city. The building, designed in
conjunction with VK Studios, was conceived both as a gateway to the city and as a link across the motorway between the
city centre and the Schelde River. It houses eight distinct civil and criminal courts and includes 36 courtrooms plus offices,
chambers for judges and lawyers, library and cafeteria, with a great public hall (the space traditionally known as the “Salle
des Pas Perdus”) linking six radiating wings of accommodation. This space is capped by a striking roof structure, crystalline
in form, linking the paraboloid roofs that cover the courtrooms.
Unlike traditional Law Courts, the new scheme creates courts, hearing rooms and public space, all filled with natural light,
as well as providing spectacular views across the city. Highly transparent clear-glazed atria, lifts and stairwells provide
instant legibility and respond to the initial brief to make the workings of justice more transparent.
Coloured steel work also acts as an orientating device that is legible both in the broader context of the city and from within
the building. The building, straddling a major highway, looks out to a large area of open land. The design creates ‘fingers’ of
landscaped parkland which extend right into the heart of the building.
When designing the new Law Courts building, RRP also focused a great deal of attention on the environmental aspects of
this project and on the effective use of energy. Natural light is used to optimum effect, natural ventilation is supplemented by
low-velocity ventilation for the hearing rooms and rainwater is recycled. The environmental strategy is based on utilising the
thermal mass of the pre-cast concrete frame, the reduction of solar gain by high performance glazing and the use of external
glazed louvres. The new Law Courts for the City of Antwerp were formally opened on 28 March 2006 by King Albert II of
Belgium. (Rogers)
Ryder Architecture Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne – UK
http://www.ryderarchitecture.com
Libraries:
Manchester Town Hall (City Council) Redevelopment + Central Library, Manchester – UK 2013/14
collaboration with Jan Simpson Architects, Manchester http://www.jansimpsonarchitects.com
David Green, project architect at Ian Simpson Architects:
A key idea has been opening up the courtyard to create connections between different levels and taking natural light through the
building. We are also bringing back some spectacular internal spaces, including the grand, curved, stone-lined Payments (Rates)
Hall. The main challenge has been balancing this transformation vision against the historic fabric. However, in many ways, E
Vincent Harris’ neo-Gothic design for the Town Hall Extension helps the low-carbon strategy – the high ceilings, large windows,
narrow floorplates and heavy masonry and exposed concrete soffits all support natural ventilation. The extension and central library
projects have progressed simultaneously, to similar deadlines, and we have enjoyed the collaborative approach to the project and the
opportunity to work closely with another architect. It has been interesting, and often enlightening, to see how another designer
approaches a similar problem.
Lee Taylor, project architect at Ryder Architecture:
The main project drivers are to provide an environment in which visitor numbers can be increased from one to two million per
annum and allow greater public access to historic and archive material. We want the refurbished central library to be a place where
people want to be. It will appeal to new and existing users alike and provide increased access to a wider range of material and
activities. It will support transformation in the delivery of library and archive services. Through a new, linked, city lending library
located within town hall extension and containing modern content and a children’s library, central library will have clarity of
purpose as the regional hub for historic and archive material The building is an intriguing hybrid of 1930s technology and classical
architecture, a hallmark of E Vincent Harris’ work. Nothing is quite as it appears; a concealed steel frame is clad internally in Manu
marble tile and render giving the appearance of stone, and apparently solid perimeter walls contain air plenums and routing for
integrated services distribution. (http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk)
The Central Library is a part of the wide refurbishment of Manchester´s Town Hall complex. The magnicent Grade II* listed
library was built in 1934 (1930-1934: Emanuel Vincent Harris 1876 (Devenport, Devon – 1971 Bath). It occupies a stunning location
in St. Peter´s Square at the head the civic complex and Oxford Road Knowledge Corrido. The vision for the redelvelopment is that
knowledge and learning will br shared amongst customers through a new use od space. The client brief is to create:
a place of unique and memorable experiences
a place that stimulates individuale creativity and thinking
an environment that induces relaxation and new thinking
a place of openess, warmth and life
a space that entices and inspires
a place that pulls you back
a place that refelcts the role of Manchester as the original modern city
(Ryder)
Manchester Central Library is part of the wider refurbishment of Manchester’s town hall complex. The grade II* listed library,
built in 1934, occupies a stunning location in St Peter’s Square at the head of the civic complex and Oxford Road Knowledge
Corridor. The ultra modern flagship library in its day had become tired, cluttered and no longer viable for the current role and
content of libraries. The existing symmetrical circular structure was disorientating with too few points of reference as the visitor
moves round its circumference. Stairs were enclosed and uninviting. It was designed as a civic statement and not as a visitor
experience. The main driver was to increase visitor numbers from one to two million per annum, to create a regional hub for film,
photographic and paper based archive with repository storage, to allow greater public access to archive and historic material and to
bring back the original clarity and architectural intent of key heritage spaces.
Ryder has transformed the previously rather forbidding and confusing building into a welcoming series of interconnected spaces.
The existing book stacks were removed, which in turn meant taking out all the floors, and the insertion of new vertical circulation
linking all levels. Clear, contemporary staircases and scenic lifts span the newly created floor apertures at each level. The generous
new sweeping stair and glazed lifts take the visitor on a journey through the building. (Ryder)
55