2 February 2004
Buro Happold Appointed to Queen’s University Belfast Library Team
Buro Happold have been appointed as environmental and building services consulting engineers for the new £30 million flagship library development at Queen’s University Belfast.
Buro Happold will provide full environmental and building services engineering and masterplan design services from inception to completion. Boston based architects Shepley Bulfinch Richardson Abbott, who are supported by local practice Robinson Patterson Partnership, were appointed in December 2003.
The new library, sited on the main campus, will replace the Main and Science libraries and will bring integration and synergy between the disciplines and will be integrated as far as possible with the existing campus. The construction of a new Library forms an integral part of the Estates Masterplan, enhancing the wider campus and creating a physical environment capable of supporting learning and teaching for future generations. A new mathematics and IT data centre will also be incorporated within the site.
The University has undertaken an extensive rolling programme of refurbishment across the campus, adapting and enhancing existing accommodation to meet current and predicted needs.
Rod Manson, Buro Happold partner, commented, “This is a very exciting and challenging project and we are delighted to be working on this prestigious commission. The library must be seen as an integral part of the campus combining access and functionality within a building that has architectural significance. The project presents a real opportunity for sustainable, low energy design and initial proposals being considered include ground water cooling”.
The new Library at Queen’s will accommodate 2,000 study places and 1,500,000 volumes. The study space will be in varied formats comprising desks with laptop ports in carrels and in-group study rooms. The stock space requirement will be based on a combination of open shelves, public access, compact storage, Special Collections and library storage.
“Founded in 1845, Queen’s University Belfast, is one of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom, and the second oldest in Ireland. It is in the top 20 UK universities for its teaching quality and research power. Offering degree courses in all major disciplines, Queen’s has more than 23,000 students and some 3,500 staff.”
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Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976 offering civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, building services and environmental engineering, health and safety management, infrastructure and traffic engineering, ground engineering, façade engineering, fire engineering, computational fluid dynamics analysis, disability design consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist CAD services.
