Newcastle City Library forms part of the £40m Newcastle Libraries PFI Projects, one of the largest library PFI’s undertaken in the UK.
The six storey building has a grand four storey entrance atrium, allowing easy orientation and visual interconnection between the wide range of services on offer. The library has become a civic landmark and a community meeting place, accommodating a range of supporting facilities including a café, crèche and public meeting, performance and exhibition spaces.
Through a highly consultative approach, Kajima brought together the local community, library users and the local authority as members of the team so that the project directly responds to user needs. The result is a doubling in visitors and a library that has been awarded both the Public Library Building Award and the Newcastle City Council Lord Mayor’s Design Award in 2009.
With the use of contemporary building materials and careful planning, the overall design, featuring a mainly transparent building, is clean and modern, whilst the library still asserts its civic stature and cultural context. Working in close partnership, Kajima has created a model for 21st century library facilities.
CLIENT
Newcastle City Council
SPONSOR & DEVELOPER
Kajima Partnerships
ARCHITECT
Ryder Architecture
CONTRACTOR
Tolent Construction
FACILITIES MANAGER
Integral UK
SIZE
10,000m2
STATUS
Operational from June 2009