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Bournemouth & Poole College

Category 1, Category 2

Location

Dorset

Client

Bournemouth & Poole College

Dating back to 1913, this space was originally an art room with a high pitched ceiling and great natural light, but over the years the effect was diminished by the addition of a mezzanine floor and high shelving covering the windows.The college was keen to reveal the original features of the room and bring back the light and airy feeling to the space. A similar style was required to the new campus at North Road, but with a more subdued colour palette sympathetic to the age of the building.

FG Library worked with Footprint Architects on a design and layout that worked with the current original features and space. Brickwork arches were sandblasted to create a magnificent back drop for the furniture. Latitude shelving was used to fit with the previous installation, this time with a softer, light grey appearance. Wall bays were planned to fit neatly around where the steel beams meet the wall.

Hard flooring was used to create a path through the long shape of the main library room. This also helped to divide the area into cluster zones, again in a more subtle colour. Acoustic pods were used wherever space allowed, to offer private group study areas, as well as the small group study rooms created using glazed panels between a run of arches down one side of the room.

The library has been used as an opportunity to showcase the modern approach of the college whilst remembering the educational heritage of the architecture