Library of Birmingham

The impressive façade of the new state of the art Library of Birmingham is progressively taking shape with the services of Wintech playing a major role in its development.

The facades have recently been tested and are now in production, progressively being delivered onto the completed building frame in Birmingham city centre.

This landmark development for Birmingham was designed by Dutch architects, Mecanoo, to house not only the conventional library and archives but also state-of-the-art gallery space, a recording studio and dedicated spaces for children amongst other things.

The facades of the building are being constructed from large unitised curtain wall panels manufactured by Lindner Façades Ltd in Switzerland; these are being transported in complete form before erection onto the building elevations. The interesting external circular carapace is fitted after the assembly of the main curtain wall grid; it’s appearance being accentuated by the reflected image off the rear glazing.

Behind the striking pattern of circles stands a more conventional facade; the performance of which informed the acoustics of the interior and therefore the day-to-day running of the library.

The main contractor is Carillion and the building is due for completion in 2013.

Project Value: £188.8m