DESIGN AWARDS ENTRY CONTENT: Reid Library is an iconic existing building at the heart of the Crawley Campus of the University of Western Australia. The building is known for its Brutalist-inspired architecture and somewhat forbidding presence; it even features a moat at Ground Level which still functions as part of the active security strategy for the library collections. However the library's central location on campus and its position between the beautifully landscaped Great Court at the north and sports field James Oval at the south have made it a popular destination for students to both study and socialise. The University Library Executive have encouraged this dual use and with this renovation embraced the changing nature of libraries as book collections increasingly transition from print to digital media. The Reid Library Ground Floor previously housed print collections and staff offices; it is now a facility for collaborative study with a variety of styles of workspace and multimedia technologies. The theme of transparency is central to the design. Although already popular, we wanted to make the library more welcoming and comfortable for visitors. By opening up the north and south facing glazing and carefully placing internal walls and vertical fins, it is now possible to stand on the Great Court on the north and see through the building to James Oval at the south, a distance of nearly 60m. Also important was our desire to give students and visitors control over their environment. University Library staff conducted studies and found that most students that visit the Reid Library will spend over five hours at a time there. We wanted to give these users who spend so much of their time in the building a sense of ownership over the space they occupy. The 700 seats on the Ground Floor now include dining, study, lounge, task, and reclining options to cater for different preferences. Semi-private study booths are individually light switched. There are now 350 power outlets for charging mobile devices and WiFi throughout the Ground Floor. Mobile whiteboards and stools provide options to workshop and partition the larger open plan spaces. Since completion of the Ground Floor renovation the number of weekly visitors to Reid Library has increased by 50%-80%, although the number of seats in the building has remained the same. The University Library undertook a survey of users of the Reid Library Ground Floor following refurbishment, to gather feedback about the new space. From 137 responses, 86% of the feedback received was positive and popular words used to describe the new space in the survey results included ‘modern’, ‘clean’, ‘bright’, ‘spacious’ and ‘comfortable’ and reflect words used in the project briefing documents. Sustainable initiatives are often seen as expensive optional extras but we were privileged that our client, the University of Western Australia, viewed this renovation as an opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of a 50+ year old building that still largely ran on its original electrical and mechanical systems. In order to achieve this goal, a combination of active and passive sustainable design strategies were implemented. The Ground Floor was taken off the 1960s era central air conditioning system and refitted with dedicated mechanical plants which incorporate some elements of natural ventilation to air conditioning the interior. The building is nearly 60m deep in the east-west axis, and so we promoted transparency from north to south with new glazing and removal of internal partitions to allow natural light to penetrate as deeply as possible. Organic response light fixtures were installed throughout the Ground Floor which dim or brighten automatically to supplement the natural light conditions outside, reducing the power load of the building significantly. Our passive sustainable design initiatives include recycling and re-purposing finishes from the original fit-out and specification of Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) certified furniture, fixtures and fittings, as well as Shaw Contract's Cradle to Cradle certified products.