Birmingham Central Library

Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was replaced by the Library of Birmingham. The building was demolished in 2016, after 41 years, as part of the redevelopment of Paradise Circus by Argent Group. Designed by architect John Madin in the brutalist style, the library was part of an ambitious development project by Birmingham City Council to create a civic centre on its new Inner Ring Road system; however, for economic reasons significant parts of the master plan were not completed, and quality was reduced on materials as an economic measure. Two previous libraries occupied the adjacent site before Madin's library opened in 1974. The previous library, designed by John Henry Chamberlain, opened in 1883 and featured a tall clerestoried reading room. It was demolished in 1974 after the new library had opened.

Despite the original vision not being fully implemented, the library gained architectural praise as an icon of British brutalism with its stark use of concrete, bold geometry, inverted ziggurat sculptural form and monumental scale. Its style was seen at the time as a symbol of social progressivism. Based on this, English Heritage applied but failed twice for the building to gain listed status. However, due to strong opposition from Birmingham City Council the building gained immunity from listing until 2016.

In 2010–11, Central Library was the second-most visited library in the country, with 1,197,350 visitors.

Earlier libraries

thumb|left|Central Library after the 1879 fire

thumb|left|[[John Henry Chamberlain|J. H. Chamberlain's rebuilt Central Library of 1882, demolished in 1974.]]

thumb|right|The tall clerestoried reading room of the 1882 library.

The first Central Library occupied a site to the south of Edmund Street and west of the Town Hall. The site had been acquired from the Birmingham and Midland Institute (BMI) in 1860 after the construction of their own building in 1857 on the corner of Paradise Street and Ratcliff Place. The BMI building was to include a library, but under the Public Libraries Act 1850 a referendum took place on the creation of a municipal library. After the first vote failed, a second one passed in 1860 causing the BMI and the corporation to cooperate on the joint site.

E. M. Barry was the architect for the BMI building and it was hoped he could be retained as the architect for the adjoining library, but his plans were deemed too expensive for the corporation. Initial use of the library was so heavy that the need for an extension was agreed in 1872 but deferred until 1878. At a cost of £54,975 the second Central Library opened on 1 June 1882. Its inverted ziggurat form was a powerful example of the Brutalist style. With the Rotunda and the Alpha Tower, it became one of Birmingham's key Modernist buildings.

Madin designed the Central Library as part of a large civic centre scheme on the newly created Paradise Circus site. Originally planned to be built alongside the library was a School of Music, Drama Centre, Athletic Institute, offices, shops, public house, a car park with 500 spaces and a bus interchange. The collection of civic buildings were all to be connected by high level walkways and the network of galleries which bridge the roads. The School of Music and a public house (The Yardbird) were the only other buildings in the original plans to be built and the high level walkways were never completed.

thumb|left|One of the reading rooms in the Reference Library

The Central Library consisted of two elements: the extrovert lending library and the introvert reference library. Madin also designed the semi-circular amphitheatre around the Chamberlain Memorial in Chamberlain Square to frame the entrance to the library and the new civic square. Concerns over the condition of the pre-cast cladding panels required the installation of netting to retain any further erosion. In October 2011 the World Monuments Fund included the Central Library on its watch list of significant buildings at risk.

Closure and demolition

thumb|right|Under demolition in March 2016

thumb|right|Demolished, July 2016

Birmingham City Council had long planned to move library services away from the Central Library to leave the building free for redevelopment of Paradise Circus. The Paradise Circus site was sold by the Council in 1998 to Argent Group, this spelled an end to the Central Library.

In 2004 an initial plan to move to a building designed by Richard Rogers in Eastside did not materialise. Instead, a site in Centenary Square, 150m to the west of the existing building, was chosen in 2007; and subsequently the new Library of Birmingham was built and opened on 3 September 2013. In the intervening years Argent Group produced plans for the Paradise Circus site which did not include retention of the library building. In response to potential demolition English Heritage applied on two occasions for the building to be listed. On both occasions the library was refused status as a listed building after lobbying from Birmingham City Council. In February 2011 the library received a 5-year Certificate of Immunity from Listing after an application from Birmingham City Council, which meant it could not be protected from demolition until 2016. The library closed on 29 June 2013 and books and archives were moved across to the Library of Birmingham. Planning Application 2012/05116/PA was approved by the City Council on 8 February 2013.

The commercial outlets of Paradise Forum closed in January 2015, and the library site was fenced off except for the pedestrian route linking Chamberlain and Centenary Squares. Internal demolition of the library took place in the Summer and Autumn of 2015. On 1 November 2015, Paradise Forum was closed to pedestrians and Chamberlain Square was fenced off in preparation for external demolition. The first visible external demolition to the main library building began on 6 November 2015. On 15 November 2015 the road tunnel beneath the library permanently closed to traffic for demolition to progress. On 14 December 2015 the first exterior concrete panels to the reference library were removed to mark the start of significant exterior demolition. On 28 January 2016 the curved facade of the lending library began to be demolished and completed on 25 April 2016. The glass roof of the internal atrium was removed on 26 February 2016. At the beginning of August 2016 the link bridge to the museum was removed and the majority of the library building was demolished.

Campaigns to save the building

Several campaign groups were set up to save the library building from demolition. Groups such as Friends of Central Library, the Twentieth Century Society, English Heritage and World Monuments Fund supported the retention of the library.

English Heritage applied twice in 2002 and 2007 for the Central Library to be listed. On both occasions the Minister for Culture refused the application. On the second occasion, Margaret Hodge, the Minister for Culture, stated that "the building did not have sufficient historical or architectural importance to merit listing". In 2009, following an application from Birmingham City Council for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing, Margaret Hodge signed the certificate which would be in place until 2016.

Friends of Central Library presented an alternative plan to the council and its developers which retained the library at the centre of the Paradise Circus scheme. It argued that the library could be used for a range of alternative uses and demolition after 40 years went against all principles of sustainability. However Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Civic Society, CABE and Argent strongly opposed any plans to retain the library and consequently the battle was lost.

References

External links

Architects Drawings of Central Library
Time lapse video of the construction of Central Library
Video of the Library under construction 1973–74
Youtube video of demolition of Central Library in April 2016
Campaign Group to Save Central Library
Invitation to the opening of Birmingham Reference Library in 1882, University of Birmingham