WM College Library

It is housed in a 1904 Grade II-listed red-brick building design by W.D. Caroe. The library is a much-loved heart of the College. Away from the classrooms - teaching everything from pottery to fashion, creative writing and acting - the library is an oasis for the students to find sanctuary. The original design and features had been left relatively untouched since it’s inception and the space had become cluttered with unsympathetic additions - primarily to the services and lighting. The vision for the library was to preserve and enhance the interior by stripping away much of the visual chaos to create a sense of calm. A green material palette was chosen in a nod to the original tiles in the fireplace, with shades of green in both finishes and furniture complimenting the beautiful original timber shelving. The ambition was to not lose the aesthetic through over-restoration, and so the shelving has been cleaned and repaired where it was damaged or existing redundant services were removed. Lighting was a key feature to the space and has been upgraded to energy efficient LED’s. The luminaires seen in the early 20th century photographs were reinstated with brass globe lights. New elegant brass bookshelf lighting has been used to create a light datum relative to the bookshelves. Whilst uplights have been added to illuminate the curved ceiling. Secondary glazing with metallised interstitial blinds have been installed to reduce the effects of overheating and unwanted traffic noise, allowing the alcoves to become more useable spaces for quiet learning, mitigating the effects of the south facing windows that face on to the busy street below.