World-class conservation centre planned to preserve the nation's heritage for future generations

9 January 2005 :: Posted by Catriona Finlayson

The British Library is planning a purpose-built Centre for Conservation to provide a world-class facility for all aspects of book conservation including education and training, as well as state-of-the art technical facilities for the nation’s Sound Archive, enabling unrivalled standards of care for the Library’s priceless collections.

The 2,600 square metre building will be a distinctive extension immediately to the north of the Library’s existing building at St Pancras, London, in the middle of the block bounded by Ossulston Street on the west and Midland Road on the east.

The £12.5million project is expected to commence construction in August 2005 and be ready for occupation in early 2007. An application for full planning permission was submitted in January. The plans have been reviewed and received general support for the overall massing and architectural treatment by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and consultation has been held with English Heritage.

Contractor Sir Robert McAlpine was appointed in December 2003 after a rigorous procurement process, led by a project board chaired by Dr Clive Field, Director of Scholarship and Collections at the Library. The building is being designed by architects Long and Kentish, with engineering design by Arups, project management by Drivers Jonas and cost consultancy by Davis Langdon.

The Centre is designed to bring together, for the first time in the British Library’s history, staff and facilities for all aspects of book conservation. These are currently dispersed across several London sites and separately dedicated to the care of particular collections. The second occupant, the technical operations of the Sound Archive, will be relocated to provide archival-standard preservation-copying and professional re-mastering facilities for recorded sound items. It will also enable the Library to offer much-needed training opportunities for conservation professionals as well as allowing the visiting public access through tours of the studios, demonstrations and lectures.

The main entrance will be through the existing Library building on the first floor, across a newly extended terrace, which has been designed specifically for public access. All visitors will enter into the Learning and Visitor Centre comprising a display area to provide them with an initial, interactive introduction to conservation, and an adjacent 40-seat capacity seminar room. There will be four main studios at this level as well as ancillary purpose-built areas designed for specialised conservation techniques.

The upper ground floor will house meeting rooms, workshops with heavier machinery and storage rooms as well as a marshalling area for outgoing loans from the Library.

The lower ground floor will provide a range of sound studios for recording and transfer of Sound Archive material, as well training facilities, laboratory and workshop areas. A quarantine room for incoming material will also be provided, as well as a marshalling area for outgoing loans from the Library.

Dr Field said: “This is an exciting project. It is the first new building at the Library's St Pancras headquarters since it opened, and it will also enable us to unite and enhance our conservation facilities for the first time. This will transform them into a world-class resource in which traditional craft skills will co-exist with scientifically-based research techniques.”

For further information contact Catriona Finlayson on +44 (0)20 7412 7115 mailto:Catriona.Finlayson@bl.uk.