Manchester Metropolitan University imagines a library of the future, where the institution’s unique demographic connects with others and with itself, the true heart of a university education. A builder of communities, drawing people in to meet, learn, create, think, read, research, discover and generate new knowledge and ideas. A building as trusted partner, issuing a compelling invitation to explore and curate a personal experience on each visit.

Already celebrated for teaching and research excellence, the new University library will allow Man Met to offer still more. It’s an ambitious building for an ambitious University, with a firm commitment to elevating the user experience. The new library welcomes and celebrates the unique qualities of every member of the University community and its visitors, a home on campus, a vibrant house of learning for a diverse institution, that promotes a robust culture of belonging, a beacon of innovation.

The building establishes a strong relationship with the surrounding streetscape and wider campus. The open and inviting ground floor provides connections out through All Saints Park to the south; double height glazing showcases the library on Oxford Road. And the pearlescent cladding that wraps the body of the building reflects the ever-changing Manchester skies.

Within the library, students are immersed among the print collection throughout but there’s a mix of study settings to suit diverse learning preferences. Long ribbon windows and perimeter seating offer independent, reflective study points, maintaining a strong relationship through the tree canopy of All Saints Park.  Views northward across the Mancunian Way, and abundant north light, enrich the double-height reading room, a contemplative setting for focussed study, ‘alone together’.