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Built to replace the previous Central Library, inaugurated in 1974 on a project by the architect John Madin, the New Central Library of Birmingham (UK) can boast of being the largest public library in Europe. The new library, designed by Dutch studio Mecanoo Architecten, was inaugurated in September 2013 and replaced the previous Brutalist-style building. The intervention is part of the urban fabric of Centenary Square, the main square of the British city, more precisely between the Repertory Theater, built in the sixties, and the Baskerville House, a massive stone-clad building of the mid-thirties .

Mecanoo's design reinterprets the square through three distinct levels: that of representation, that of sociality and that of culture. Access to the building is via a pedestrian path very popular with citizens that passes through Centenary Square (the Mecanoos have renamed this path "the red line". The relationship with the square is also for this reason privileged: the whole structure is designed and oriented around the central square, so as to indissolubly join the context. Even the gigantic overhang of the first level of the library is not only a large canopy that offers shelter to the (shared) entrance to the Library and the Repertory Theater, but also constitutes a large balcony overlooking the events and events taking place in the square .

However, what immediately jumps to the eye, of the building, is its singular external appearance, characterized by a coating patternof intertwined rings with a sparkling effect that overlaps an alternation of silver and gold colors and glass on the facade. The obvious reference is to the “Jewelery Quarter”, the area of ​​the city of Birmingham which was once an important center of jewelery production in Great Britain. These rings cast dynamic shadows inside the reading rooms in the central part of the building, while allowing a wide diffusion of natural lighting. The new space, which occupies an area of ​​35,000 square meters, is spread over nine floors, three of which are not accessible to the public, and therefore doubles the capacity of the previous Madin building, being able to accommodate from 5,000 to 10,000 people a day. From a volumetric point of view the building is defined through the combination of rectangular blocks, four to be exact, which generate several terraces and canopies arranged in green. Inside, however, the building has several overhangs and intermediate floors. At the lowest level, the structure opens onto a circular courtyard which can also be used as an informal amphitheater if necessary. Another strong point of the structure are the main reading rooms, which extend from a central rotunda in the building and alternate bookcases and study spaces, with some special "reading counters" with stools arranged along the external perimeter (overlooking the square). The lower levels house the archives and spaces for research, while an ovoid-shaped environment in the upper area of ​​the library houses the "Shakespeare Memorial Room", which dates back to 1882 and which collects a rich series of works by the English playwright. This Victorian reading room is paneled in wood from the time of Birmingham's first Central Library.

Another strong point of the Mecanoo project is energy efficiency (the intervention obtained the BREEAM Excellent classification). The building is equipped with water collection systems and geothermal heat pumps. Even though the library is a transparent building, sustainability is maintained through the mass of the building and through the atriums which create a buffer effect against energy dispersion. The reflective materials inside the facades and their shadow block the sun's rays during the early afternoon, however the residual natural light is sufficient to illuminate the interiors. The ground floor benefits from the benefits deriving from the isolation and the buffer effectprovided by the soil. The circular patio of the square creates in turn a protected outdoor space and allows good natural lighting inside the structure. The building also makes use of a skilful strategy of natural and mixed ventilation. The addition of green spaces on the roof further enhances the natural insulation of the roofs and also defines pleasant resting and reading spaces in the city center.