New library – a lot of glass, plenty of class

Cuould this become one of the city’s most iconic buildings?

Today, the Echo can reveal the first glimpse of Cardiff’s new Central Library in The Hayes.

Scaffolding surrounding the £15m building has begun to come down to reveal the striking glass structure, which is due to open its doors to the public in spring 2009.

Today, passers-by gave the thumbs-up to the library as it reaches completion.

Until now the six-storey library, which has been built by Laing O’Rourke and is funded by the St David’s Partnership, had been concealed by plastic sheeting as builders worked to complete the 55,000sq ft building.

The public can now see parts of the brass and glazed building, which also has blue, red and green panels, designed to look like books on a bookshelf from a distance.

By Christmas, the completed building will be handed over to Cardiff council for the mammoth task of transferring books from the temporary library in John Street and setting up IT equipment.