Faulknerbrowns architects have created a cylindrical library on the banks of the River Tyne in South Shields, housing the National Centre of the Written Word.
The new cultural centre – the highlight of a £100 million regeneration project for the North-East town – is intended to celebrate the written word “in all of it’s forms”, acting as more than just a “repository for books”
The “21st century” library’s non-conventional offerings question the role of such a facility in modern society, with facilities allowing visitors to express their own creativity.
Facilities offered include 3D printers and laser cutters, a television and radio studio, an ‘immersive’ story-telling area, and an IT suite, with other provisions include a cafe and a rooftop viewing terrace.
The circular building sits between the mouth of the River Tyne and the town’s Market Square. A facade lined with slatted elements wraps around the circular form, resembling the fanned out pages of a book.
Of the building’s design, the architects said “it is representative of The Word’s contribution to society: it is democratic, a community gathering space of equal parts.”
Where the fanned facade overlooks the Tyne estuary, the slatted skin opens up to allow views of passing ships from a viewing platform within the library called “the Lens”.
The open-plan nature of The Word is designed to engage visitors as soon as they enter the building, with a full-height, circular atrium linking the activities happening across the 4-storey building.
At the heart of the building, a 6.5-metre wide glass chandelier hangs above the grand atrium, constructed from colour-changing, glass light drums and designed to represent South Shields’ glass making history.
Newcastle-based architects Faulknerbrowns developed their design around an understanding of the changing role of the library in a modern, digital society. They said “It represents a divergence from the traditional notion of a library as a temple for silence, instead proudly celebrating its role as a place to share and learn without limitations.”
Photographs by Hufton + Crow