Library Birmingham Birmingham United Kingdom Architect Mecanoo Architecten 2013 Atrium escalators linking multi-storey

---

Dutch studio Mecanoo has completed Europe's largest public library in Birmingham, England, with a sunken amphitheatre, rooftop gardens and a shimmering facade clad with interlocking metal rings. Sandwiched between a 1930s building and a 1960s theatre, the new Library of Birmingham fronts one of three piazzas that comprises Centenary Square. The building is made up of a stack of four rectangular volumes, which are staggered to create various canopies and terraces.

---

Size: 4730px × 3548px
Location:
Photo credit: © Christian Richters-VIEW / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 10-storey, 2013, 21st, architecten, architecture, bespoke, birmingham, blue, bookshelf, building, centenary, centre, century, circular, civic, colour, complexity, concrete, day, escalator, europe, extensive, frame, functional, gallery, glazing, golden, iconic, image, interior, kingdom, library, link, lit, mecanoo, media, mezzanine, midlands, multi-storey, rotunda, series, social, space, square, staggered, stripe, united, urban, view, volumes, west, ziggurat