Worcester Library

The 'BREEAM Outstanding' Worcester Library and History Centre is a new facility for the city and university, housing the county archive and providing an academic and civic educational resource.

The landscape is based on a strong narrative derived from the local landscape of the River Severn and the Malvern Hills. The gardens comprise a series of islands and belvederes overlooking two landform basins. These basins contain rich local damp meadow species and act as an attenuation reserve.  Alongside the basins, a series of islands are populated with species of particular local provenance, including Black Worcester Pear orchard, Black Poplar Island and the True Service Tree belvedere.

The Library and associated landscape is embedded in the town through a series of connecting routes which link the new university campus to the civic heart. The landscape provides an ambulatory route around the building and defines a series of terraces and garden rooms. The terraces and gardens are functional spaces, such as a small market terrace and a library square. The ambulatory route includes a causeway bridge and new footbridge links to adjoining sites.

The landscape aims to be an exemplar of sustainable design, including SUDS drainage, water attenuation, productive urban gardens, locally sourced materials and plant species, and careful landscape management to enhance species diversity and ecological richness.