The new Birchfield Library in Birmingham was to be on a prominent but difficult site, a place dominated by fast-moving traffic where pedestrians are pushed to the sidelines. It seems to us that this corner is a fine location for a social focus for the entire community. So in our proposal we aimed to double use the space: by lifting the building up in the air, we had the library above, and a new lively, protected and public open space below, where once traffic was king.

The Library is a belvedere, overlooking the locality and connecting to distant views of Birmingham. By locating all services together on one, big flexibly planned floor, interaction between them is maximised, helping to bring potential users into contact with what the library can offer them.

Underneath the library is a large protected public square. At its corner is a floodlit netted ball court, and the whole of this new space is to be elegantly lit and paved, a focus and meeting point helping to make the library the place to be in Birchfield. In the ground floor entrance lobby of the library there is a café and exhibition area. These, together with the bus-stop on Aston Lane, a relocated pedestrian subway, a new car park, and a link through to Bragg Road and the redeveloped shops, will add vibrancy and footfall to the new square. Video projections will enliven the space, upwards onto the building soffit, and down onto the paved surface, informing and entertaining.

At the east end of the library we have proposed a mini tower of thirty six flats, some of which will be affordable homes. The tower will be supported by the library, but is accessed entirely independently. It could be built at the same time as the library or its construction could be delayed until funds allow.

Key to our thinking was the phasing of the project. By lifting the building up we could build over the existing shops, without waiting for their leases to expire. This way we could achieve the operational advantages of a single floor plate. It also would enable the apartments to built at the same time as the library, getting site value back as soon as possible. Later the shops and car park can be redeveloped without affecting the library or the apartments.