In April 2009, Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council, has unveiled the design concepts for the new Library of Birmingham by the acclaimed Dutch architects Mecanoo.

The Library of Birmingham will be situated on Centenary Square between the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The REP) and Baskerville House. The project will make a huge contribution to the regeneration of the city, creating 250 new jobs including 25 apprenticeships.


The library building will be joined to The REP at ground and mezzanine levels and will share the foyer, bars, restaurants and a new 300 seat theatre.

The large entrance canopy welcomes the visitor into the building which is characterised by circles
- an amphitheatre below Centenary Square, the interior overlapping rotundas and on the outside the delicate filigree circles , inspired by the city’s tradition of craftsmanship and industry.

The journey through the building will be by escalators and travelators giving the visitor a constantly changing view lit by natural light. The design incorporates two outside balconies with magnificent views.

The library will be a cultural centre drawing visitors from all over the world and a second home for the city’s diverse communities. Accessibility will be greatly increased - everyone will feel welcome and comfortable. It will be a community hub, reaching out to all parts of the city in an exchange of knowledge and ideas . . . a place to interact, a place to learn, study and a place to meet and take part in activities and events for families, businesses, groups and individuals of all ages. New technology will enable the city’s photographic and archive collections to be viewed and shared much more widely.

The detailed design will be developed over the summer, following public consultation, and a planning application will be submitted later this year.

From left: Clive Dutton, Director of Planning & Regeneration, Birmingham City Council, and architects Francine Houben and Francesco Veenstra of Mecanoo sign the contract for the design of the Library of Birmingham,
August 2008.

Birmingham City Council is working towards delivery of a major new facility for the city and the region: the Library of Birmingham and The REP. Our goal is to set new standards for libraries in the 21st century, creating an exceptional resource for learning, information, and culture. The Library of Birmingham will be open, welcoming and accessible to all citizens - it will connect Birmingham to the world and bring the world to Birmingham. The project is an exciting opportunity to modernise, enabling us to deliver an outstanding public service to local people in the decades to come.

In October 2007 the Leader of Birmingham City Council, Cllr Mike Whitby unveiled proposals to deliver the Library of Birmingham on a shared site with the world famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The REP). This groundbreaking £193 million project will be developed on land adjoining The REP, with the library and theatre joining together and sharing a number of facilities to create a unique centre for knowledge, learning and culture. The announcement followed the completion of the business case for the Library of Birmingham by leading project and construction development consultant Capita Symonds. Cabinet approved the proposals on 22 October 2007 and the Project Manager was appointed in December 2007.

Design work is now underway. Construction is scheduled to start in 2010 for completion by mid 2013.

The site for the Library of Birmingham is between Baskerville House and Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Centenary Square. It is currently used as a car park. Owned by the City Council, the site has long been earmarked for a special, high quality new development. The Council is committed to delivering a new landmark building to make an exciting addition to the urban landscape in this part of the city centre.

The development will include a new medium-sized auditorium, meeting and conference rooms, plus cafe and restaurant facilties that will be for the shared use of the library and the theatre. The development will boost and consolidate the continued regeneration of the city centre's Westside and the improvement of Centenary Square.

Carillion, the multi-national Wolverhampton-based construction company, has been appointed official contractor to build the Library of Birmingham.

The multi-million pound construction and fit-out project will create an estimated 250 new jobs over the three year construction period. Carillion will work with the Council’s Employment Access Team to ensure that jobs created are accessible to those in the most deprived areas of the city.

Find out more about Carillion

An archaeological survey has been carried out on the site, revealing remains from the city’s industrial past not far below the car park surface. Archaeologists from the University of Birmingham have unearthed a canal arm and factory remains, as predicted by a desk top survey carried out for the Library of Birmingham business case.

There will be a fuller excavation in Summer 2009 before construction work for the new library begins, enabling a detailed record to be created. The potential for incorporating some of the features into the design for the new building will also be considered.

Find out more about the excavation on the Birmingham Archaeology website

The Library of Birmingham business case sets out the details of the proposal, including information about the costs, funding and delivery programme. It is available to download - Library of Birmingham Business Case

Birmingham's existing Central Library is the busiest public library in Britain and the city's most visited public building. However there are major problems with the building, which was built in the early 1970s. The fabric is in very poor condition and the design unsuitable for modern-day needs. The storage capacity and environment, and level of public access for archives, photography and rare printed collections are unacceptably poor given their national and international significance. The Library of Birmingham will provide an exceptional solution to this.

For more Questions and Answers, see under Attachments below.

• Foreign Office Architects
• Foster and Partners
• Hopkins Architects
• Mecanoo
• OMA
• Schmidt Hammer Lassen
• Wilkinson Eyre