Description

CAMDEN

TQ2684SE AVENUE ROAD
798-1/61/1895 (East side)
02/12/97 Swiss Cottage Library

II

Public library. 1963-4, for the Borough of Hampstead by Sir
Basil Spence, Bonnington and Collins. Reinforced concrete
frame on 10' grid clad in pre-cast black basalt concrete
spandrel panels between projecting and finely-finished
concrete fins with Portland stone aggregate, all set over
smooth raised basement and ground floor of Portland stone and
concrete - painted. Asphalt on concrete roof slab. The
cigar-shaped plan is a complex one, the entrance at
ground-floor level on the highest, northern end of the site,
the ground floor and basements otherwise housing offices,
services and bookstacks, whilst stairs lead to a double-height
central foyer at first-floor level. Children's library to side
of this; to north and south respectively lending and reference
libraries on two levels each with two pairs of spiral stairs
to balcony. Music library over children's library on second
floor, reached through reference library which also includes
work rooms for private study and offices.
The projecting fins of Portland stone aggregate at 2'6"
intervals are the dominant feature of the building, contrasted
with the darker panels in between. Aluminium windows.
INTERIOR: aluminium also used extensively internally in the
vertical divides to the glazed screens preferred to solid
walls through most of the public interiors. This verticality
is repeated in the slender steel balustrades to the reference
and lending libraries' balcony fronts and internal stairs.
White perforated aluminium ceilings with recessed fluorescent
light fittings a necessary complement to the extensive use of
diffused, borrowed light through the building; terrazzo
floors. Original bookcases and fixed desks, the latter notably
in reference area; some original signage survives on ground
and first floors.
Swiss Cottage Library and the adjacent baths were all that
were built of an intended new civic centre for Hampstead, the
scheme abandoned because of local authority reorganisation in
1965. It is one of Spence's most accomplished civic buildings,
and amongst the most ambitious architectural designs for a
library found anywhere.
(Architects Journal: 29 January 1959; Architects Journal: 25
November 1964; Architect and Building News: 11 November 1964;
Opening Brochure of the Queen's Visit: November 1964).

Listing NGR: TQ2677784180

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Swiss Cottage Library at Wikipedia
• Swiss Cottage Library official website
• Wikidata Q7658861

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments