“Building a new library is about more than just putting Birmingham on the map,” explained Birmingham City Council’s assistant director for culture at a recent Birmingham Future development update. “It’s about reclaiming the city’s cultural status.”
The Paradise Circus update, organised for members of young professionals’ organisation Birmingham Future, saw Brian Gambles of Birmingham City Council and Gary Taylor, joint managing director for Argent developments UK, speak on the challenges faced by two of the city’s landmark projects.
Gambles continued: “One of the main opportunities, and challenges, that we’re faced with is recapturing people’s imagination with the notion of the library. It’s all about people and the transfer of knowledge, ideas and information. We want to redefine the word library.”
Gambles also spoke of the next big challenges facing the library – future proofing the design elements of the building for a changing Birmingham population, and the logistics of moving an estimated 100 miles of book shelving to the new environment.
Speaking at the event, Gary Taylor of Argent said: “It’s an urban myth that Paradise Circus has fallen into disrepair because of a lack of maintenance – I remember coming into Birmingham as a teenager shortly after it was built and experiencing it firsthand. Suffice to say, it wasn’t a welcoming place.
“What we have now is eight acres of what is undoubtedly the most strategically important space in the city. After consulting with the public, it’s clear that people want improved public access and permeability. Reconnecting the two sides of the city through this development is our main focus.”
Damien Byrne, chair of the city centre committee for Birmingham Future and development manager at MCD Developments, said: “There’s no doubt that both the library and Paradise Circus developments pose a huge opportunity for Birmingham. In using these two schemes as anchor developments for large scale regeneration, we’re following in the footsteps of other successful city regeneration schemes across Europe.
“The real challenge now for the region is ensuring the projects are deliverable, both commercially and in terms of funding. We have some great people, both at the council and in the business community, working very hard to make sure this happens.”
To find out more about the scheme, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/libraryofbirmingham, or for more information on Birmingham Future, visit www.birminghamfuture.co.uk.
