London School of Pharmacy

Library

The library of the London School of Pharmacy is the only dedicated library of Pharmacy in the UK. MBA were selected as architects after a limited competition in 2008 to create humane, accessible and inspiring places for study, research and information exchange. The project involved:
- reorganising the library into zones, acoustically treated to create: entrance and welcome, group study, individual quiet study and book stack areas
- emphasising natural light and using the height of the existing building enclosure to the full.
- use of active acoustics and multiple layers of acoustically absorbent materials at high level to create an artificial sky, so that sound is contained without fully enclosing the quiet spaces.
- the introduction of new skylights to reduce dependence on artificial light.
Purpose-designed furniture included the entrance workstations, reception desks, study carrells and acoustic screens to provide areas for group study.

Contractor: Parkeray Ltd
Project management: Davis Langdon
Services engineers: Thornley and Lumb
Structural engineers: Scott Wilson.