CWC22114 - Wolverhampton Central Library Façade Refurbishment

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<p>The Wolverhampton Central Library façade and building envelope is in much need of repair and restoration. The Central Library is a grade II* listed building. It was constructed in 1900-1902 to the designs of the prolific competition-winning architect Henry Thomas Hare (1861-1921), who specialised in libraries public buildings in the ‘free Jacobean’ style. The library has fine brick and terracotta facades to the street fronts, with simpler brick elevations to the rear courtyard. William Aumonier of London was involved in the modelling of the decorative terracotta. The roofs are steeply pitched and tiled on the street fronts, but shallow pitched and slated to the rear. High quality detailing includes a pair of copper domes and a tall fleche to the main entrance. Inside, there is good stained glass and plasterwork and a dramatic staircase to the first floor reading rooms. The Library is an excellent example of its date, well-built in high quality materials. However, at 120 years old, it is now in need of a programme of repair, including to the roofs and terracotta. As terracotta repairs are only likely to have a 20-25 year lifespan it is proposed that, where terracotta is damaged, it should be replaced, in a matching material. This is a time-consuming specialist procedure. Numerous other repairs to the façade and building envelope should be attended to at the same time, to make best use of scaffolding. The City of Wolverhampton Council is seeking a building contractor, with the skills and experience of similar heritage style works, to undertake the works as set out in this Employers Requirements document.</p> Keywords: library, Heritage, refurbishment, construction