The library has a rich history and diverse history. The building itself was not always a library. It used to be a train factory but was refurbished and reopened in 2004 as part of the university. In the book How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand it notes “all buildings adapt[…] however poorly, because the usages in and around them are changing constantly” (Brand, 1997, 2). This is true for the library as it transformed from a factory to a place of learning as the university needed it. You can still see traces of its former self on the outside as it says “warehouse,” and on the inside contains brick walls and parts of train engines in the architecture. When discussing theatre, we must realise that “architecture is the most fundamental and consistently overlooked aspect of theatre” (Rufford, 2015, 2). Without architecture we would not have places to perform theatre, there would be no building specifically designed with proscenium arches and there would also be nowhere to perform site specific. The buildings and history of the buildings we perform in have an impact in the work we make as “first we shape our building, then they shape us” (Brand, 1997, 3).
Citation List:
Brand, S. (1997) How Buildings Learn. London: Phoenix Illustrated.
Rufford, J. (2015) Theatre and Architecture. London: Palgrave.