£188m Birmingham library taking shape

Birmingham's new £188 million central library is starting to take shape after months of ground work, as this latest picture shows.

The huge new building is being created between Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Baskerville House in Centenary Square.

Sarah Kirby, spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council, confirmed the construction was on target for its planned opening in 2013 and that it was running to budget.

Miss Kirby added: "The pillar which has been built on the site is one of two cores for the library. The cores will hold the stairs and lifts and need to be built first as part of the structure."

And tower cranes are being used to erect both cores, providing some clue as to the scope and scale of the completed main structure.

The Rep Theatre extension has meanwhile been demolished with piling works completed. The glass-fronted library, which will cover 31,000 sq ft, is being constructed by

Wolverhampton-based Carillion.The city council has also struck a deal with the British Film Institute for a media centre at the new building.

The Mediatheque, as it is being called, will include the most extraordinary clips from the BFI's archive.

The 10-storey library has been designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo and will create 250 jobs when finished. More than three million people are expected to use it every year.

Once complete the new library will be the largest in Europe.

Its cost was slashed from an initial £193m estimate to £188m by Birmingham City Council through savings on the construction contract.

As part of the deal with Carillion it has been agreed the firm, not the authority, will bear any over-budget costs.