Express & Star

Birmingham Library scheme will be flooded by light

These images offer the first glimpse of Birmingham's new £188 million library.

Published

These images offer the first glimpse of Birmingham's new £188 million library.

The computer generated images show a central rotunda, looking down through floors packed with books and a new ampitheatre for outdoor performances in Centenary Square.

Produced by Dutch architects Mecanoo, the images show the 10-storey library flooded with light from its glass frontage, with visitors taken from floor to floor on travelators and escalators.

The library, which will cover 31,000 sq ft, is being constructed by Wolverhampton-based Carillion. Once completed it will be the largest in Europe. It is expected to create 250 jobs, with more than three million people expected to use it every year.

Work started on the landmark building in January this year and it is set to open in 2013. The development started to move forward after the government granted Birmingham immunity from the listing of the old Central Library, meaning it did not have to be preserved for its historical importance.

When the development was announced, regeneration chief Councillor Neville Summerfield said the project would "right the wrongs" of the 1970s which saw the current much-maligned Central Library built.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.