There has been something of a renaissance for libraries and museums over recent years. Funding is still tight, particularly at a local level but new and upgraded facilities are being designed to respond to new demands and technologies. In universities, libraries have become learning hubs, facilitating collaborative work as well as private study.
AMA has worked on a wide range of projects, from local authority facilities such as the John Harvard and Peckham libraries in south London to university libraries, including the Adsetts Learning Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, and the new National Library of Greece in Athens.
The common themes across all this work are a thorough understanding of user needs and an appreciation of how spaces can adapt to change. For many users libraries are places of refuge as well as social interaction – our challenge is to allow these two uses to co-exist, often in the same space.
