Holborn Library, London



Architect
Sydney Cook - Holborn Borough Council Architect's Department
Date Built
Opened 1960
Location
Theobalds Road
Description
In an article published on the Twentieth Century Society website in July of 2013, by Susannah Charlton, the Holborn Library was selected as "Building of the Month".  The article described it as, "... a milestone in the history of the modern public library, both as the first large, multi-functional, post-war library in London and for its pioneering architecture, with an elegant façade, striking entrance canopy and influential internal planning."

"The four-storey building has a reinforced concrete-frame and a non-load-bearing façade on Theobalds Road in narrow russet brick with a generous expanse of metal-framed glazing, which looks particularly striking when lit up at night. In their listing report of 2010 (to which I am much indebted) English Heritage note that ‘Holborn was the first library to exploit the potential of a large area of glazing to create a modern image for the public library, something which became standard in library design afterwards’."





As the plaque above the entrance doors records, the building was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on the 22nd of November 1960.  When it opened, the Times Educational Supplement described it as,  "... a bold and imaginative response to the problems of planning a modern central library".



"The large ground-floor reading room, with its Swedish-inspired cantilevered mezzanine balcony, is flooded with light from the glazed façade."










In March of 2016 the E-Architectr.co.uk website ran a story entitled "New Library for Holborn - Award-winning developer, U+I, to work with Camden Council to create a new library for Holborn". Apparerntly, the plan is to redevelop the library and the adjacent Cockpit Yard to, ".... provide brand new employment studio spaces, a fully remodelled library and local studies archive facility, and new public spaces so that this becomes a busy, creative hub for the community. The redevelopment will also deliver 105 new homes including new affordable units."  As of March 2017 there was no evidence that this plan has been implemented.

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