Hamilton Building, Town House, Architect, Photo, South Lanarkshire Library Project, Award, Image
Hamilton Town House Building
New Public Library, South Lanarkshire, Scotland design by Coltart Earley Architects
post updated 9 September 2023
Hamilton Library – information from Coltart Earley Architects, Scotland – Nov 2005:
Address: 102 Cadzow Street, Hamilton ML3 6HH
Phone: 01698 286 105
Hamilton Town House Library
Glasgow architects celebrate double at national awards ceremony:
Public Library – Building Awards 2005
The new Library at Hamilton Town House, by Glasgow architects Coltart Earley, and the Stirling Award nominated Brighton Jubilee Library, by Bennetts Associates, each took two of the highly coveted Public Library Building Awards at the recent awards ceremony.
Hamilton Library: Cadzow St image from Coltart Earley Architects
The judges chose the Hamilton Town House project, which also received a Civic Trust Commendation earlier this year, as the winner of the Architect Meets Practicality Award and also the Mary Finch Accessibility Award.
Hamilton Library: Main Hall image from Coltart Earley Architects
Philippa Harper, Co-Chair of the Awards, said “We were tremendously excited by the standard and innovation we saw in the winning libraries, with striking examples of integrated design, bold, innovative architecture, architectural statements, the development of customer-focussed retail design principles, ICT innovation, an emerging café culture, and greatly improved access and community consultation.”
Hamilton Library: Main Hall entry image from Coltart Earley Architects
Bill Coltart, Director at Coltart Earley, noted “We are absolutely delighted with these awards, it is recognition of the progressive approach to a modern library within the community which was developed with South Lanarkshire Council for this project. It is particularly pleasing given the high quality of the other entries and the fact that no Scottish Library has ever been successful in these awards, now they have – twice”.
Hamilton Library: glass junction image from Coltart Earley Architects
South Lanarkshire Council’s Chair of Education, Councillor Mary Smith said: “I am delighted that the facilities we have at Hamilton Town House Library have been recognised in this way. They are user-friendly in the broadest sense of the term, open and accessible to all. The building has been beautifully restored and is a wonderful place to visit”
Hamilton Library: interior image from Coltart Earley Architects
“The Council and the building architects Coltart Earley are honoured to win these two awards.”
The full list of awards for the five categories are as follows:
Partnership Award
Winner: Jubilee Library br /> Highly Commended: Explore Music
Architect Meets Practicality Award
Winner: Hamilton Town House, South Lanarkshire Council
Highly Commended: Garston Library &One Stop Shop
Interior Design Award
Winner: Swiss Cottage Central Library
Highly Commended: Sutton Central Library
Highly Commended: Gosport Discovery Centre
Heart of the Community Award
Winner: Waterford City Library
Highly Commended: Tubbercurry Civic Offices & Library
Highly Commended: Gorbals Library & Real Learning Centre
Mary Finch Accessibility Award
Winner: Hamilton Town House, South Lanarkshire Council
Highly Commended: Gosport Discovery Centre
The Delegates Choice Award was voted for online by delegates and members of the Public Libraries Group and was presented to the Jubilee Library
Project Synopsis
Hamilton Library: Carnegie Room image from Coltart Earley Architects
History
Hamilton Town House is a Category “A” Listed Building comprising of three connected buildings, individually constructed and separately opened in 1907 (Carnegie Library), 1914 (Town House) and 1928 (Town Hall). The Complex is located on the periphery of Hamilton Town Centre. The site has significant ground level variations that account for the increase in structure from a three-storey elevation to Cadzow Street to a nine-storey East Elevation on Cadzow Glen.
In total the building contains seventeen different internal floor levels. The complex had declined in condition and use over a sustained period and South Lanarkshire Council had identified the project as a priority for the period 2001-04 as part of the initiative to regenerate Hamilton and provide improved facilities for the wider South Lanarkshire Community.
Hamilton Town House
The new facility includes a modern community learning environment within a traditional setting that supports the principles of lifelong learning, a revitalised library developed along the lines of the Government’s “New Library” model, an industry standard 900 & 300 seat performance venues that can attract nationally profiled performance arts, conferences and functions whilst continuing to support training and community group activities.
High quality civil ceremony facilities which are able to link appropriately to banqueting services within the Avon Suite, there is a base for the proactive Arts Development Service, a base for the Community Learning Team, Community Arts facilities and the recreation of the Carnegie Rooms, the original Library Lecture Theatre which was destroyed by works to the building in the early 1970’s.The project also involved the sensitive conservation and restoration of a number of original features within the complex including ornate wall panelling, stained glass windows and ornate cornice and plaster features.
The Architect Meets Practicality Award is given to Libraries of significant architectural interest that are practical and user-friendly whilst the Mary Finch Accessibility Award is the award is given to the library which, in the opinion of the judges, most addresses access issues from physical through to cultural barriers.
The prestigious awards are run by the Public Libraries Group (PLG) of CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. They act as indicators of professional library development, and as benchmarks of public library building facilities, reflecting the major changes in library provision in the 21st century.
Hamilton Library – Coltart Earley Architects, Scotland – Building information 2 Nov 2005
Another Hamilton building:
Woodhead Primary School, South Lanarkshire
Design: RMJM
photo © Keith Hunter Photography
Woodhead Primary School Hamilton
Comments / photos for the Hamilton Town House Building page welcome.