Peckham may be one of London’s most vibrant neighbourhoods today, but it was a different story in the 1990s. With high levels of unemployment and a GCSE pass rate well below the national average, the area was one of the most deprived in the country. Its salvation came with the arrival of a library unlike any seen before.
Masterminded by the late architect Will Alsop, then co-director of the firm Alsop & Störmer, Peckham Library broke all the rules of how a public building was expected to behave. The five-storey space is shaped like an upside-down L, with most of its facilities, including the main library hall, on the upper floors rather than at ground level.
Supported by super-skinny columns that angle in different directions, this faux-cantilever creates a sheltered public area at the building’s entrance, while those inside are treated to incredible views of the city skyline.
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Bold colours help to enhance the building ’s many exuberant details. A bright-orange sunshade tops the roof, contrasting with the turquoise hue of the patinated-copper cladding, while the rear façade is a multicoloured-glass curtain wall that turns the building into a jewel box by night.
The library hall is equally playful, thanks to three timber-clad pods that were originally designed to provide a children’s activity area, meeting room and specialist Afro-Caribbean library. Dotted with windows and raised up on chunky legs, these curvy forms loom over the space like huge animals.
Other facilities, located on the lower levels, include a children’s library, a local-history archive, a citizen’s advice centre and offices, all accessed via Willy Wonka-esque glass elevators.
When Southwark Council commissioned the building, the ambition was to bring a sense of pride back to this struggling area. The result exceeded expectations; the library garnered international attention when it was awarded the Stirling Prize in 2000. More than 20 years later, its membership is significantly higher than the borough average for all age groups, and particularly so among teenagers.
The Twentieth Century Society has recently submitted a listing application that, if successful, would see Peckham Library become the first 21st-century building in the UK to receive protected status. The library reopens this summer following some maintenance and refurbishment works. When it does, it will be well worth a visit.
