Bournemouth's Octagon takes top award at library design 'Oscars'

4 December, 2007

The £5.3m The Sir Michael Cobham Library at Bournemouth University has won the prestigious SCONUL Library Design Award. Girton College, Cambridge has taken the honours in the 'smaller buildings' category.

The Library Design Award, presented every five years by SCONUL, rewards the best new or refurbished higher education libraries in national and university institutions.

Bournemouth University's new library, completed in January 2003, was victorious over 18 candidates including representatives from all over the UK and Ireland.

The prizewinning five-storey Octagon building, designed by Saunders Architects, has flexible study spaces and is modelled around a central service core. It includes a number of innovative features such as:

• An increase in study places from 775 to 964 (24%).
• Spaces for group and social learning in a variety of informal clusters.
• Natural zoning with areas for quiet study, learning support, online research and use of special collections.
• Energy efficiency measures including a wind-tower ventilation system boilers which achieve 94% efficiency and PCs with low-energy flat screens.
• Full wireless network and 'blue sockets' for students to use laptops without restricting study space.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the new library has been the participation results. The average percentage of seats occupied has risen in the three years since the new library opened from 43% to 47%. While the number of hard-copy and electronic downloads has risen from 620,000 in 2002/03 to 962,000 in 2006/07, a rise of 55%.

Sheila Cannell, chair of the SCONUL judging panel said,

"Bournemouth's Library and Learning Centre has a thoughtful, quiet and subtle approach to library design and has become a beacon for scholarship in the city, so is a deserving winner. We have a robust judging process for the Design Award and the panel has travelled to the four corners of the UK and Ireland to examine our 18 candidates. We have been extremely impressed by the overall quality of library design throughout. The most successful libraries are those who have worked closely with their institution and used the new library to bring about innovation in library service delivery".

"SCONUL have been so impressed by the standard we are also announcing that the Library Design Award will now be made every three years, because five years is now too long a time in library design".

The 'Smaller Buildings' category won by Girton College, Cambridge is presented to developments of less than 2000 sq m.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

Library Design Award,

• Winner: Bournemouth
• Highly Commended Status: Glasgow Caledonian University and Open University

Smaller Buildings Award

• Winner: Girton College, Cambridge
• Highly Commended Status: University College London, SSEES Library and University of Warwick Learning Grid

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