April 1

Formwork is being positioned for the roof support columns while work continues on the main slab for the Community Centre meeting rooms.





The mezzanine level has been poured and the formwork is being removed to expose the shape of the upper level.

Looking down from the mezzanine gives you a very good idea of scale of the library.

February 26

Major trenching works are underway on site to provide underground ducting for the air conditioning, electrical connections and plumbing.

Preparations are well advanced to may the slab in the School of Arts now that underpinning has been completed

The formwork for the mezzanine level is now completed and the support columns will be poured in the next few days. The columns are clearly visible as the yellow poles in this photograph.

Trench for the airconditioning ducting

This will be the Youth area when the building is completed. In the middle of the photo you can make out the reinforced support structures for the main support columns.

February 19th

The formwork for the mezzanine continues while substantial slabs have been poured along the eastern and northern boundaries of the library building. In the second photo down, you can clearly see the curved wall feature. This area will eventually house the Picture book and Junior reading areas.

Formwork is now being laid in preparation for the pour of the slab floor for the entrance to the library.

Look east from Salfords lane you can see the rims of the rain water storage tanks that have been buried under the park. The development will make extensive use of captured water.

Underpinning work on the School of Arts facade is nearing completion.

Out of the ground

Despite the inclement weather of recent weeks we're now officially coming out of the ground which is great.

This week, formwork is being erected for the pour of the mezzanine floor and for the complex slab shapes for the curved eastern wall and other footings.

The following photos show the formwork for the "potted trees" that will grow inside the library.

The lift well

January 2008

Today saw the commencement of the concrete pour of the plenum slab. The plenum is a space used for the movement of environmental air and forms a crucial part of the new library's environmentally efficient cooling and heating systems.


It was a great day for the pour and 18 cement trucks will arrive during the day as the pour progresses.

The historic School of Arts building is being repinned. This is a painstaking process that will ensure the integrity of the building for the next 100 years.

Pouring the plant room floor

Today the builders were starting to pour the concrete into the footings for the building. These photos show concrete being poured into what will be the plant room floor. The plant room will be the home of the building systems including air conditioning units and power management systems.

November 29

Despite the rain this month, groundworks are proceeding to schedule. If you visit the site you can now see the new buildings outline. Trenches have been dug and concrete will be poured in the next few days. The lift well is also taking shape.