Novus helps Stafford Library tell its own story

National maintenance, refurbishment and new build contractor Novus Property Solutions has created a brand-new energising space for visitors to a Staffordshire library to enjoy.  

Stafford Library, which is owned and managed by Staffordshire County Council, recently moved into a new building in the heart of the town centre. As a plain blank canvas, the new library needed a creative interior design to transform it into a light, bright, energizing space, designed to meet the needs of modern library users and maximise the building’s full potential.  

The team from Novus’ Stoke-on-Trent office worked closely with the council and library staff throughout the project to ensure that the new design met all the specified criteria. The project was competed to a tight schedule in order to meet the planned opening date, which meant Novus had to carefully co-ordinate multiple trades on-site to complete ahead of the deadline.  

One of the key elements of the project was to create flawless lighting conditions to accommodate readers as well as those working on computers and touch screen monitors. In addition to the new energy efficient curved glass doors which were designed to provide plenty of natural light, Novus also installed smart lights. These are designed to detect and automatically adjust to the level of light in the library, and will dim or switch off when there is enough natural light present, helping to reduce the library’s overall energy consumption.  

The layout of the library has been refreshed and by using a variety of different designs, a number of distinct reading environments have been created to stimulate readers in different ways. The whole area inside the library has been broken up with curved shelves to separate reading zones from innovation suites, which house computers and 3D printers.  

The library also specifically requested a child-friendly area to inspire young readers and feed their imaginations. Novus worked closely with creative designers to create a rippling effect on the carpet, mimicking that of a pond, with a seating area designed to look like a pond full of lilypads continuing the fun theme.  

Novus also installed a new floor with steel encased fire resistant wood floor panels, which were chosen for their excellent acoustic performance, and added buzz bars in the void underneath the floor to allow flexibility in the subsequent positioning of computers.

Ben Adams, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member responsible for libraries, said: “The library is first class, looks fantastic and feels warm and inviting. It makes exactly the statement that we would want from a modern library in the heart of the county town.”