| Q1 - Why are Queen’s planning a new
Library?
Answer - Queen’s University plays a pivotal
role in the life of Northern Ireland. Innovation and excellence
in learning and research are combined with a mission of serving
the local community. By harnessing global excellence for local purpose
and advantage, the University underpins the knowledge-based economy
that will ensure Northern Ireland’s future prosperity. Queen’s
is embracing the challenges facing Northern Ireland in the 21st
century. To continue to do so, it must be at the leading edge of
the information and knowledge revolution. The building of a new
Library, more than any other single development, will make the greatest
contribution to the University’s search for excellence. A
new Library for the 21st Century will provide Northern Ireland with
a world-class resource in which innovative learning and research
will flourish.
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Q2 - What benefit will a new
Library provide?
Answer - A new Library at Queen’s will promote
access to quality. It will provide, in one location, an integrated
learning environment for academic staff and students. It will create
a world-class resource for Northern Ireland. A new Library will
enhance Learning and Teaching by transforming the support given
to students and academic staff. It will support Research and Development
and allow Northern Ireland to attract and retain the best researchers.
It will enhance University research activity in all disciplines.
A new Library will enrich the Student Experience at Queen’s
by providing a high quality work place that promotes multi-disciplinary
learning. It will enhance the University’s Contribution to
the Community by providing even greater access to its resources
and a unique collection of books, manuscripts and periodicals, built
up over more than 150 years.
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Q3 – Can the present library
accommodation not be refurbished?
Answer - The present library accommodation is
basically unchanged since 1969. Since this time, the number of students
has increased from just over 4,300 to more than 24,000 today. Regular
shelf-space has remained the same but the number of books, pamphlets
and periodicals has doubled. Library services today are based on
five separate sites stretched across a three-mile radius. The Old
Library is too small and cannot be extended. The Main Library Tower
and the Science Library, built in the mid 1960s before the advent
of computers, could not have foreseen the development of innovative
electronic information sources in support of learning and research.
The University’s vision is to build a central, high quality
library to achieve a seamless range of service and support for users,
and an environment that will encourage multidisciplinary learning
and collaboration.
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Q4 - How is the Library being
funded?
Answer - The total cost of the library project
is over £40 million. A fund-raising campaign has been spearheaded
by the Queen’s University of Belfast Foundation and the project
has already received £28m from private donors. The project
also received £10m from the Northern Ireland Executive through
the Reinvestment and Reform Initiative. The new library will be
a world-class facility in Northern Ireland that will enable the
university to continue its development as one of the leading educational
and research institutions in Europe.
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Q5 -Where will the new Library
be built?
Answer - The site for the new Library is located
in the southeast corner of the University’s Main Site. The
site is bounded by the Botanic Park to the south, College Park to
the north and Rugby Road to the east.
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Q6 - What University buildings
will be affected?
Answer - The David Bates Building and 7 and 8
College Park East are on the site of the new Library and will be
demolished. College Park Physics which lies to the north of the
site will also be demolished and this area will form part of the
landscaped setting for the new building. The David Bates Building,
College Park Physics and 7 College Park East are undistinguished
1970s era framed buildings with elements ranging from single to
four storeys. They have flat roofs, lightweight external cladding
with poor thermal insulation and have outlived their useful lives.
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Q7 - What about the existing
library buildings?
Answer - The Old Library will remain a treasured
part of the University’s estate and will be restored to its
former glory and put to an appropriate use. The feasibility of reducing
the height of the Library Tower will be investigated before its
conversion to use as an office/teaching building. The Science Library
is a poor quality building and the University will examine its long
term future.
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Q8 - Will there be any impact
on Botanic Gardens?
Answer - The new Library will be built on land
owned by the University. The south side of the site abuts the Botanic
Park and is bounded by a fence and dense planting. The site’s
location relative to the park provides an opportunity for attractive
views from the new Library and surrounding public spaces. The exterior
space between the building and the south site boundary has the potential
to continue the character of the park beyond its boundaries with
compatible selection of planting materials. The University is working
closely with Belfast City Council Parks Department on the specification
of planting and design of landscape features and on the relationship
of the building, its landscaped setting and the boundary with the
park. Development of the site will enhance the views and landscape
along College Park to the gate lodge at the entrance of Botanic
Gardens. Removal of the College Park Physics Building and landscaping
of the site will greatly enhance the relationship of the area to
the park, improve pedestrian walkways and promote public access
to Botanic Gardens.
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Q9 - What will be the impact
of the scale of the new Library?
Answer - The accommodation requirements for the
new Library have been developed by reference to university and industry
standards and through an assessment of both current and anticipated
future needs. The University has calculated that to meet the needs
of staff and students for years to come, the Library needs to have
space for 2000 readers and 1.5 million volumes. The building’s
spatial requirements have been minimised by including extensive
compact shelving and a basement store. The University is determined
to create a beautiful building of which Queen’s and Belfast
can be proud. Design specifications dictate an appropriately scaled
building which is sensitive to the adjacent environment. The building
will have a maximum of four storeys, consistent with the David Bates
Building. The northeast corner of the site which abuts the Rugby
Road residential area will be the site for a three storey Mathematics
Building which will be predominantly academic office accommodation.
By its nature it will be a lower-scale building with windows and
storey heights in keeping with the character and scale of the residential
neighbourhood. The creation of landscaped open space to the north
of the new Library will significantly enhance its overall setting.
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Q10 - Who are the architects?
Answer - Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbot
(SBRA) from Boston in the United States were selected after a rigorous
international selection process. SBRA have been associated with
many prestigious university libraries worldwide including Harvard,
Yale, Cornell and Fordham. The appointment panel concluded that
SBRA could provide the necessary experience, resources and design
ability to undertake this flagship project on behalf of the University.
SBRA are working with local architects Robinson Patterson Partnership.
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Q11 - What materials will be
used?
Answer - The site is fortunate to be surrounded
by several prominent listed buildings, including the Lanyon Building
to the west and the Palm House to the southwest. The Lanyon Building
and Rugby Road residential buildings establish a context of building
materials dominated by brick and sandstone. The new Library will
respect the neighbouring buildings in the selection of its building
materials palette.
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Q12 - How will the surrounding
area be landscaped?
Answer - The new Library site offers opportunities
for improving the character and use of the surrounding open space
by careful landscape design. Successful landscaping will have a
major impact on the creation of a vibrant ‘library quarter’
which will be for many the heart of the University. The west side
of the site can be developed as a landscaped plaza and gathering
space adjacent to the entrance tower and at the junction of the
major north-south and east-west pedestrian routes. The area to the
north, encompassing the site of the College Park Physics building
and the adjacent car park, can be developed as landscaped car parking
with formal pedestrian routes delineated by mature planting. The
south side of the site adjacent to the boundary with Botanic Park
affords the opportunity for continuity of landscaping, creating
a visual extension to the Park while maintaining a physical barrier.
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Q13 - What degree of consultation
has taken place with the local community?
Answer - Queen’s is consulting widely on
this flagship development for the University and Northern Ireland.
The University values the input, comments and support of the community
that it serves. Senior University staff hold frequent meetings with,
and provide a direct link for, local resident groups including Rugby
Road Residents Association, Friends of Botanic, Holylands Residents
Association and Stranmillis Residents Association. The University
has put in place a mechanism whereby issues and questions raised
by residents can be addressed both prior to and during construction.
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Q14 - How is construction being
planned?
Answer - It is anticipated that a planning submission
will be made in Summer 2004. The New Library will be constructed
in two phases. In Phase 1, a free standing Mathematics Building,
and the portion of the Library containing the central computing
functions, will be built on the north east corner of the site currently
occupied by 7 and 8 College Park East. Phase 1 will have a construction
period of approximately one year. When complete it will create a
‘buffer zone’ between the main Phase 2 development and
the nearby residential properties throughout the remainder of the
construction period. The University will facilitate communication
between local residents and relevant contractors in order to minimize
inconvenience and discuss related issues such as access routes for
site traffic. Phase 2 will create the major Library element and
involve the demolition of the David Bates Building. Completion is
planned for December 2008 with subsequent commissioning and operation.
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Q15 - Will servicing the new
Library present difficulties?
Answer - The Library by its nature will not require
significant numbers of large service vehicles. However, the University
will undertake further study on this issue and consult local residents
on proposals to manage efficient deliveries and services.
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Q16 - How will car parking be
affected?
Answer - The removal of the College Park Physics
building to the north of the site introduces the opportunity for
new landscaped parking provision.
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Q17 - The current Computer Centre
generates some noise from old outdoor cooling fans. Will this problem
be duplicated in the new Library ?
Answer - Computing services will be embedded within
the hi-tech new Library and hence this problem will be eradicated.
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