Name of the Library: Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, UK
Parent Organisation: Norfolk County Council, UK
Street Address: The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1AW
Postal Address: The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich NR2 1AW
Telephone : +44 (0) 1603 774774
(incl Country code)
Web Address: http://www.theforumnorfolk.com/
Library Email: libraries@norfolk.gov.uk
Type of Library Central/ Main Library , Regional Library
Population served: About 130,000 people live in the city of Norwich, but the library also serves as a hub for the county of Norfolk (800,000 people).
Project Type: New Building
Size (square metres): 4,621
Date of Completion: 2001
Architect: Sir Michael Hopkins
Description
This is the busiest library in the UK and has held that title for the last 7 years running.
It is housed in a building called the Forum, which includes Tourist Information Centre, heritage attraction, cafe, training centre, etc. The Forum is conceived as a courtyard surrounded by a three storey, horseshoe-shaped enclosure of load-bearing brickwork, which accommodates the various activities on a series of balconies.
The courtyard roof is supported by bow-string steel trusses forming leaf shaped panels, infilled with acoustically absorbent material or glazing. Light enters into the heart of the building, creating a dynamic public Atrium.
The key sustainable strategy is the use of the building mass as a ‘passive’ environmental modifier and the introduction of ‘active’ building engineering systems, only to assist the fabric to recycle ambient energy.
Its spectacular glazed end wall frames the Gothic church tower of St Peter Mancroft, welcoming the city in, and forming a major public space in the forecourt.
Click to access Architecture__Construction_of_The_Forum.pdf
http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/the-forum-trust/about-the-forum
1001 Libraries to see before you die 