| The Hive | |
| Building Type: | Library |
| Cost: | £29.7 million |
| Address: | Sawmill Walk, The Butts |
| Location Town: | Worcester |
| Location Country: | England |
| Floor Area: | 12,371m2 |
| Main Contractor: | Galliford Try |
| Architecture Firm: | Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios |
| Services Engineer: | Max Fordham |
| Other Designers: | Copper Cladding - Norman and Underwood Ltd |
The Hive, is a large golden-coloured building in Worcester, England, which houses the fully integrated Worcestershire County Council, City of Worcester public library, the University of Worcester's academic library, Worcestershire Record Office, the county Archive and Worcestershire Archaeology Service.
The Hive was procured under a private finance initiative programme and was built by Galliford Try at a cost of £60 million.[1] The Hive's joint commissioning clients were the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council. Funding was also provided by the National Lottery and the British government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Education. It was opened to the public on 2 July 2012 and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 11 July 2012.[2]
The library houses over a quarter of a million books.[3] According to the Annual Public Library Statistics from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), The Hive issued 903,859 books during the financial year 2013/14 and achieved 978,199 visits. This placed it in first position in the West Midlands.[4]
Awards include:
Better Public Libraries; Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; 2003RIBA Journal; April 2012 CIBSE Journal; March 2013