27 November 2009
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Credit: Birmingham City Council
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Planning permission has been granted for the new £193m
Library of Birmingham.
The project is a central part of Birmingham City Council’s
20-year, £17bn ‘Big City Plan’ programme - the most far-reaching
city centre redevelopment project ever undertaken in the UK.
A Capita Symonds team is providing Project Management, Cost
Management and CDMC services on the project which is on programme
to start on site after Christmas and is expected to be completed in
mid 2013.
The current building - Birmingham Central Library - opened in
1973 and is the busiest public library in Britain, attracting more
than 1.5 million visitors per year. The design, however, is
inflexible and cannot be easily adapted to keep up with the ever
changing developments in ICT and patterns of use for learning,
information and culture.
Designed by Dutch Architects Mecanoo, the new Library will
comprise of ten floors - nine floors above ground and a lower
ground floor - and is expected to attract up to 10,000 visitors per
day. The development will also include a new flexible circa 300
seat studio theatre which will be shared by both the library and
the adjoining Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
The building will be constructed by Carillion Construction under
a bespoke form of NEC Partnering Contract with a Guaranteed Maximum
Price and shared saving incentives.