- Year
- 2013
- Category
- Cultural · Libraries
- Type
- Commercial
- Status
- Built
- Firm
- Mecanoo
- Location
- Birmingham, United Kingdom
More than just a building, the Library of Birmingham (LoB) designed by Mecanoo is a People’s Palace, a centre for learning, information and culture that unites people of all ages and backgrounds. The design extends the space of the street indoors. A cantilevered volume not only provides shelter at the entrance, but also serves as a grand balcony with a discovery garden. The circular courtyard cut out of the square is a protected outdoor space that invites daylight deep into the building. Visitors move from one floor to the next through interconnected and overlapping rotundas that provide natural light and ventilation.