New Library Buildings in Europe

a	name and address
1	Type of library	university
2	Name of library / Name of mother institution	Bill Bryson Library / Durham University
3	Address	Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 5XS, United Kingdom
4	Phone / Fax / Email	+44 (0)191 3343042 +44 (0)191 334 2971 main.library@durham.ac.uk
5	Name of the director of the library	Mr Jon Purcell
6	Contact person for enquiries	Dr Richard Pears richard.pears@durham.ac.uk +44 (0)191 334 2970

b	population served
7	Current readership, number of registered readers	26427 [Including current university staff and students, retired staff doing research, visiting researchers, alumni and the public.]
8	Number of full time students	15655
9	Number of part time students	1433
10	Number of staff in institution	3000

c	the old/original building(s)
11	Total floor area	8558 sq. metres
12	Number of reader seats	879
13	Total capacity of shelving	21714 linear metres
14	…in open access storage	17519 linear metres
15	…in closed access stacks	4195 linear metres
16	Number of library staff	65
17	Opening hours to the public	104 hours per week in term-time, reduced in vacations. Open for 350 days per year.

a	architect(s)
18	Firm	_Space Group, Spaceworks, Benton Park Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7LX, United Kingdom, for library extension and refurbishment of entrance level; PHP Partnership Pinetree Centre, Durham Road, Birtley, Co. Durham, DH3 2TD for M&E Replacement
19	Project Architect	Donn Ponnighaus and Andrew Grounsell for library extension and refurbishment of entrance level; Fausto Periera for Mechanical and Electrical Replacement and refurbishment of remaining areas of earlier building
20	Type of project	(New extension and complete renovation of earlier building.)

b	aims of the new building
21	Short description of the main objectives and purposes of the project	Durham University has five libraries. The oldest, Palace Green Library, dates in part from the fourteenth century with seventeenth and nineteenth century additions. This building was scheduled to be converted to provide greater access to university special collections. This required the transfer of the law and music collections to the Main Library, the largest library. The Main Library was built in three phases from the 1960s to 1990s, but the university population had doubled since the previous extension in 1993. Study desks were sacrificed to accommodate additional bookshelves, leading to chronic over-crowding and student dissatisfaction. PCs were concentrated in a wing built in 1993, separated from the printed library collections and preventing the simultaneous use of relevant sources in different media. Group study spaces were very poor, leading to complaints and problems with noise in areas intended for individual study. Library staff were dissipated in small rooms around the building. The aims of the extension and refurbishment were to increase the number of study spaces, increase the opportunities to deploy PCs or for students to use laptops and wireless access to electronic sources, accommodate law and music collections from Palace Green Library, provide open access to collections and consolidate service points. Staff were moved into a large open-plan workroom planned to ensure that interdependent functions such as ordering, cataloguing and processing of acquisitions were co-located. After the east wing extension was completed the University decided to continue the refurbishment of the whole library, replacing all mechanical and electrical systems, redecoration, the installation of greater wireless capacity and providing power to all study spaces so that print and online sources can be used together. The Main Library was renamed the Bill Bryson Library in honour of the former Chancellor of Durham University and well-known author.

c	special features
22	Site	On university campus close to city centre with views of historic Durham Cathedral and Castle, (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Majority of university departments and residential student colleges are close by.
23	Architecture	The earlier library building was designed by Faulkner Brown with their trademark exposed brown brick, narrow windows and entrance on the first floor, due to the sloping site. Subsequent additions to the library added a rectangular block of four storeys (the west wing) containing PCs and mobile shelving. The new east wing was added onto the opposite side of the library. This has produced a reverse Z-plan building that can confuse new readers. The new east wing is a four-storey steel frame and concrete floor slab construction, with concrete and glass external walls. Additional space was obtained by enclosing part of the angle between the east wing and the south-east side of the earlier building with a glass wall to create an atrium with additional study spaces. The atrium has a raised floor to provide many additional floor boxes for power and data access. The polished concrete walls and ceilings are of a very high standard, with many other walls covered with gustav paneling or painted plasterwork. The majority of the study spaces have access to power for laptops and PCs. The northern side of the east wing has a series of fins, like a saw blade, with full height glass windows in the edge facing across the playing fields to provide views of Durham Cathedral and Castle. These fins each have 6 study desks and the desks and wall paneling are in elm. The building is fully accessible for readers with mobility difficulties. There are 90 photovoltaic cells on the roof of the east wing to provide green energy, whilst the south-facing, curving glass wall of the atrium has a brise soleil to provide solar shading and minimize glare. 5 metre modular grid.

	divided into
24	Total gross floor area	11478 sq. metres
25	Open access services	10127 sq. metres
	special rooms for (26-29)
26	Audiovisual	120 sq. metres [9 group rooms, 3 group pods and 8 individual rooms, 1 individual room with listening facilities and music keyboard]
27	Computers	540 sq. metres
28	Special collections
29	Seminar room(s)	120 sq. metres [as noted above 9 seminar rooms]
	special activities (30-32)
30	Exhibition space
31	Lecture hall
32	Public refreshments	36 sq. metres
33	Administration and staff areas	378 sq. metres
34	Closed access stacks
35	Circulations areas (corridors, stairs, lifts), toilets, technical rooms, etc.	497 sq. metres
36	Further information	Four levels, all accessible to public
37	Number of reader seats (total)	1300
	divided into
38	Audiovisual	96
39	Computers	230
40	Seminar room(s)	40
41	Regular	934

b	total potential capacity of shelving
42	Books and periodicals (total)	23000 linear metres
	including
43	Open access stacks	23000 linear metres
44	Closed access stacks
45	Compact shelving	12800 linear metres [included in total figure]
46	Audiovisual materials	152 linear metres [included in total figure]
47	Other
48	Number of staff required to operate the new library	72 [72 FTE during the working day (9-5) Monday to Friday. Extended hours staff at other times]

c	mechanical features
49	Ventilation/Air Conditioning	chilled beam and radiators fed by University Building Environmental Management System
50	Heating	chilled beam and radiators fed by University Building Environmental Management System
51	Lighting	motion-detection
52	Acoustics	Gustav paneling feature walls to absorb sound
53	Lifts, elevators, escalators	2 lifts
54	Book transportation system	human
55	Theft detection	Boon Edam and Telepen entrance gates, 3M for short loan area
56	Building management system	BEMS centralled controlled by University Estates and Building
57	Type of IT infrastructure	Whole building wireless enabled. Network wiring is Cat 6.
58	Other

59	Planning, preliminary brief
60	Architectural competition
61	Period of project
62	Opening of the construction work
63	Conclusion of the construction
64	Furnishing and moving the collections
65	Opening of the new building for public	extension opened 23 April 2012, formal opening 10 January 2013, refurbishment to conclude September 2015

66	Site	1800000 euro [University owned site but required consolidation of former colliery workings.]
67	Building	11000000 euro
68	Furniture and equipment
69	Fees
70	Total
71	Operating costs
72	Funding (Type of commission and source of funding)	University funds and loans


	doctype:	plan
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library refurbished entrance area
	copyright owner:	Durham University
	doctype:	plan
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library level 1 of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University
	doctype:	plan
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library level 2 of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University
	doctype:	plan
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library level 3 of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University
	doctype:	plan
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library level 4 of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	exterior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library exterior with pre-2012 library centre and new east wing extension on right
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	exterior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library exterior of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	exterior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library exterior of east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	interior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library interior of new east wing extension with wood panelled individual study rooms and open reading area
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	interior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library PC-equipped study desks in east wing extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	interior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library social study area
	copyright owner:	Durham University

	doctype:	interior
	caption:	Bill Bryson Library feature individual study areas on north side of extension
	copyright owner:	Durham University

General Information

The New Building

Technical Information

Schedule Of The Building Process

Costs (Including Taxes)

Publications & Awards

Plans & Photos