Wexmoor Borough Council · 2024
Halden Road Library annex
A two-storey timber annex behind a listed 1906 library, adding a children's library, a quiet study room and the step-free entrance the old building never had.
The problem
The Halden Road library is a red-brick 1906 building with a stone portico, a grade II listing and nine steps up to its only door. Behind it sat a 410 m² yard used for bins and two staff cars. The council wanted a children's library, a study room for 40 and level access, on a construction budget of $2.3 million, without closing the main reading room for more than six weeks.
The site is in a conservation area and backs onto the gardens of eight terraced houses. Planning officers were clear that the annex could not compete with the portico from the street, and neighbours were worried about overlooking and losing evening sun. The yard also sits over a Victorian sewer, which ruled out deep foundations along its eastern half.
Process
- 01
Three massings, one street view
We tested a single-storey wrap, a two-storey block and a split section that steps down towards the gardens. Each option was photographed from the street in a 1:200 card model and shown to the planning officer and the residents' group in the same week. The stepped section won on both counts: invisible from Halden Road and lower than the garden walls at the boundary.
- 02
A light frame over a heavy plinth
Because of the sewer, the building had to be light. We used a cross-laminated timber frame on a shallow raft, with a plinth of reclaimed red brick laid in lime mortar to match the 1906 walls. The CLT stays exposed inside, so there are no ceilings or linings to pay for. North-facing rooflights give even daylight across the reading tables without glare on screens.
- 03
Building around a working library
The CLT panels were craned in over two weekends from the side road, so the library stayed open. The only closure was five weeks to break through the rear wall and form the new link, scheduled for August when visits are lowest. A temporary timber ramp gave step-free access to the old building for the first time while work went on.
Selected images
Outcome
The annex opened in March 2024. Children's visits rose by 60 percent in the first year, and the study room is booked out most weekday afternoons. Monitored energy use for the annex is 38 kWh/m² a year, heated by an air-source heat pump that now also serves the original reading room. The project finished 2 percent under its construction budget.
- 380 m²
- New floor area
- 38
- kWh/m² a year, measured
- $6,050
- Construction cost per m²
They spent more time with the residents' group than any architect we have hired. Planning went through first time, and the library never closed for more than five weeks.
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