Everyday Moments | Exploring The Library of Birmingham

After doing the city walk around Birmingham, one of the places I was drawn to and inspired by the most was The Library of Birmingham. It's definitely an iconic building in my eyes and was one of the first buildings I visited in the city - I even have an amazing view of it from my living room window!
The main thing that draws me in about the Library is definitely the architecture and the circle pattern that covers the building. It's something I've never seen done before and I think it works really well and despite being an utterly crazy design, it somehow fits in seamlessly with the rest of the Birmingham skyline.

Inside is even better - old grand bookcases are everywhere and you almost forget you're in such a modern building, until you factor in the huge escalators that take you from floor to floor. Normally the contrast between old and new would look ridiculous but in here I think it works well and it really is a beautiful building.

There's even a 'secret garden' balcony on one of the top floors with amazing views of the city where I observed many people engrossed in their books and others taking photos of the city below.

The circle design of the building carries on inside, appearing on most of the internal windows to the offices, and covering up the windows the outside which is a lovely design feature. A circle is such a simple shape but it's so effective here and it's something I really want to play around with and see what I can create in the workshops as I think with embroidery and print combined, I can create some really detailed and interesting designs.

Watch this space...