Posted On August 04, 2016
Turning the Pages
G&T has a rich history in the Arts & Heritage sector spanning decades of projects including the performing arts, theatres, museums, art galleries, World Heritage sites and many more. Libraries make up an important part of this sector, fascinating for their preservation of historical artefacts and the innovative techniques now used for cataloguing and archiving such valuable collections. Read on to find out more about a couple of our most notable library projects...
World Book Day is in its 19th year and is celebrated by over 100 countries with the aim of encouraging children and young people to engage with reading.
PHILIP VILE
The London Library
The London Library is one of the world’s largest independent lending libraries, founded in 1841 following an empowered speech given by Thomas Carlyle about his vision for a new inclusive lending library. Membership to the library is open to all, hosting a raft of famous members in its time including T. S. Elliot, who was appointed President from 1952 until his death in 1965. The building itself is housed in a collection of Victorian and 20th Century buildings in St James’s Square and is currently undergoing a phased expansion and refurbishment to bring its reader facilities and book storage up to 21st Century standards.
G&T provided cost management services for The London Library’s new Reading and Art Rooms, opening up new working and studying spaces. We also worked on the extension into TS Elliot House and the refurbishment of the Issue Hall. The work was phased to suit funding and ensure minimum disruption to its 8000 members.
PHILIP VILE
The National Library of Scotland
Scotland’s largest library, The National Library of Scotland, is one of five legal deposit libraries in the UK and contains several collections of world class importance. With over 15 million printed items and the largest collection of Scottish Gaelic items in any library, the building has had National Library Status since 1710 and was formally constituted as The National Library of Scotland in 1925.
The library itself is undergoing major refurbishment works on two of its most important public sites to ensure the continued protection of the collections from the elements. G&T was appointed to provide project management, cost management and principal designer services at George IV Bridge in 2013 and the works were completed in 2015. G&T was also appointed to provide the same services at Causewayside which involves the complete replacement of the external envelope while the collections remain in place and which is currently on site and due for completion in 2018.
