“The Library was the only HEFC(E) funded project to finish on time and on cost this year”
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling,
Rector, Royal College of Art

Situated adjacent to the Royal Albert Hall, the Library at the Royal College of Art is a sensitive response to the brief and the context. Readers are seated at the windows with books located in the plan’s depths behind, housed in dense oak bookcases. The exterior is clad in lead for reasons of style and substance; we were delighted when the celebrated sculptor, Eduardo Paolozzi, was moved to note “It looks just like a casting”. A restricted site dictated unconventional and innovative construction techniques: the steel frame was lifted into place, followed by smaller lighter elements, which could be assembled on site.

Design Team
Dewhurst Macfarlane
Robert Scott
Davis Langdon & Everest