South Norwood Library by Croydon Architects’ Department

South Norwood Library in Croydon was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 20 September 2023 to a jury comprising Rab Bennetts, Juliette Morgan, Neil Thomas, Peter Bishop, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, and Chair Isabel Allen. Read about how the project has stood the test of time.

Credit: Michael Heyward

Completed
1968

Located in an area of high deprivation, South Norwood Library is a tough, taught, pocked-sized building that has served its community well over the last five decades. Designed by Hugh Lea of Croydon Architects’ Department, the finely detailed glass and masonry structure is highly characteristic of late 1960s brutalism.

The generous double-height lending library is paired with a clever split-level floor arrangement, maximising flexibility and enabling up to 14,000 books to be accommodated – an enormous quantity for a modest-sized branch library. Outside, large aluminium windows on the lower floors contrast with a ‘blind’ concrete-clad upper storey facing Selhurst Road. The latter incorporates the original bronze ‘library’ signage, which is capitalised in an evocative condensed Grotesk font.

A key focus of the library has been the consistent provision of a children’s book service. This has helped thousands of young people from across the Borough gain access to free literature over the last 55 years. In the 1990s, computer areas were installed in the basement and upper gallery. These remain indispensable resources for local adults and children, with free internet access facilitating job applications and homework.

In the early 2000s a community-designed mosaic mural, benches and bike-racks were added to the previously empty space in front of the building, activating the streetscape and making a welcoming mini-public square. Threat of closure – due to financial cuts – was avoided in 2022, following a successful and heartfelt grassroots campaign by local people. A new boiler was installed over the winter of 2022-23 improving energy efficiency.

Looking to the future, a promised investment of £500k by the council – allocated for essential maintenance repair works – should kick-start a sustainably-led modernisation programme, which will safeguard the future of what is an enduring and much loved community resource.