'It's like going to meet your gran and finding she's turned into Beyoncé': Liverpool spends £55million to revamp library
- Work began in 2010 to transform the city's central library
- Climate controlled space for city's archive and treasures
- Took ten years of planning and will be home to over 4million items
There are certainly no musty corners or books gathering dust in this library.
After three years and £55million the Liverpool Central Library is finally due to be re-opened this week - and is already drawing gasps at the stunning result.
The writer Frank Cottrell Boyce said that the new library had been completely overhauled to an unrecognisable degree.
A view of the foyer of the new annexe of Liverpool Central Library. Over four millions items, including documents and books, are now to be rehoused in the library
It will open on Friday to coincide with the city's arts and culture festival, Liverpool Light Night
The historic Hornby Library and Oak Room will both be open to the public for the first time and so too will the sunken circular amphitheatre-style space in the basement of the Picton Library
He said: 'It's like going to meet your gran and finding out that she's turned into Beyonce,' he told the Daily Telegraph.
It took ten years of planning and over four million items, including documents and books, are now to be rehoused in the library.
Work began on the scheme in 2010, and was fully completed on Tuesday. At its peak, 200 people were working on the project, with 43 per cent of those employed coming from Merseyside.
It will open on Friday to coincide with the city's arts and culture festival, Liverpool Light Night.
A book worm's heaven: Librarian Ruth Grodner finishes the task of restocking books in the restored Picton Reading Room
Work began on the scheme in 2010, and was fully completed on Tuesday - the council expects 1 million visitors to come throught the library's doors in the first 12 months
After ten years of planning and over two years of restoration, Liverpool's Central Library is near completion for it's official opening on Friday
Developers 'aimed to strike a fine balance between restoring the grade ll listed buildings and introducing new 21st century spaces' Shepherd Construction, one of the companies behind the PFI restoration and redevelopment project, said.
The construction company, said that numerous planning applications were needed and they were careful to retain the library's historic façade on William Brown Street.
The companies, including architect Austin-Smith:Lord (ASL) and Cofely, had to demolish the 1950s sections to allow for a new towering five-storey building, which will house reading and information floors, public café, meeting rooms, atrium and roof terrace.
Liverpool Record Office, 14km of archives and some of the city's historic treasures from the last 800 years will be protected in the new building
The council said: 'Liverpool now has one of the most modern, attractive and user-friendly libraries and records office in the UK.'
Liverpool Record Office, 14km of archives and some of the city's historic treasures from the last 800 years will be protected within a climate-controlled space.
The historic Hornby Library and Oak Room will both be open to the public for the first time and so too will the sunken circular amphitheatre-style space in the basement of the Picton Library which will become the children’s 'Discover' library.
Visitors to the library will be greeted with a granite literary carpet inset with the titles of famous literary and cinematic works, and a 20-metre high granite panel listing 53 writers with ties to Liverpool, flanked by Tecu gold cladding.
The council says it expects more than one million visitors to come through the library's doors in the first 12 months, more than double the previous average figure.
Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for culture and tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: 'To see the building transform from a tired, dark venue into a stunning, welcoming library has been wonderful.
'The intricate work which has been undertaken has had magnificent results and there is already a buzz across the city about the re-opening in May, with many people keen to see the new-look Central Library.
'It’s a real credit to all those involved that Liverpool now has one of the most modern, attractive and user-friendly libraries and records office in the UK.'
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