Seven architects shortlisted for the new city library

Seven architects, including some of the biggest names in world architecture, have been shortlisted to design Birmingham's new central library.

The shortlist, announced on 27 March, was chosen from more than 100 architects who entered an international design competition run by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The shortlist

The seven practices are Foreign Office Architects, Foster and Partners, Hopkins Architects, Mecanoo, OMA, Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Wilkinson Eyre. Between them, they have designed landmark buildings around the world, including libraries, museums, stations and skyscrapers.

A new library for Centenary Square

The new library will be built on Centenary Square, between the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Baskerville House, on a site that is currently a public car park. The city council confirmed the site in 2006.

The council wants a world-class landmark building that will be the flagship of the city's cultural life and a symbol of its regeneration. It will house the city's lending and reference libraries, its archives and its special collections, including one of the most important Shakespeare collections in the world.

A long search

The council has been looking at moving the library for many years. An earlier plan to build a new library in Eastside, designed by Richard Rogers, was shelved for financial reasons and because of concerns about the location. The council then considered splitting the library between Centenary Square and Millennium Point, before deciding to put everything on one site.

The old library

The new building will replace the Central Library at Paradise Circus, designed by John Madin and opened in 1974. With its inverted ziggurat shape, it is one of the most distinctive buildings in the city, but the council says it is no longer fit for purpose.

Campaigners and some architects have argued that the old library is a fine example of brutalist architecture and should be kept, but the council plans to demolish it as part of the redevelopment of Paradise Circus.

What happens next

The shortlisted architects will now prepare their designs, and the winner is expected to be announced later this year. The council hopes the new library will open in the next few years.

A cultural boost

The library is one of several major projects planned for the city centre, including the rebuilding of New Street station. Supporters say a striking new library would help put Birmingham on the international map, in the way that new museums and galleries have transformed other cities.

Critics have questioned the cost at a time of pressure on council budgets, and whether the money would be better spent on local libraries in the city's neighbourhoods.