NEWS CULTURAL BUILDINGS
Palace library will house historic religious archive
Wright & Wright Architects has unveiled designs for a new building which will house the historic collections of Lambeth Palace Library, currently split across several buildings and houses in London. The practice was awarded the commission
to design the new complex following what it said was a “highly competitive” design com- petition in 2015. Serving as the main archive for the Church of England, the library will house items dating back to the 9th century. Plans are due to be submitted in
December for a building in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, the Grade I listed London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury on the south bank of the Thames. The architects said the location “will
provide the right balance between the needs of the collection, being within easy reach of transport routes, and a historic and integral link to the existing palace.”
The new building will be clad in red clay
brick, to “pay homage to the surrounding palace buildings,” said Wright & Wright. The building has been designed to put the archives above any flooding risk, and to form a “bulwark” screening the garden from pollution and traffic noise. An eight-storey tower is topped by a
multi-functional public viewing space, allowing direct views across the river Thames to the Palace of Westminster. A naturally lit reading room will have
tranquil views across the historic gardens, and “state of the art” archival systems will facilitate ongoing conservation and storage of this unique collection of archives. Rowan Moore, architecture critic and
judging panel member said: “Wright and Wright showed a high degree of sensitivity to the Library’s contents and location, while giving it a confident new public expression.”
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The library serves as the main archive for the Church of England and houses the second-largest religious collection in Europe after the Vatican
ADF OCTOBER 2016
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
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