Design team for new Central Library is announced

CALGARY- Plans for a new Central Library in Calgary took a big step forward on Tuesday.

The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation says it has now selected an architectural team and the design of the new facility can now begin.

In May, the  CMLC put out a call for firms to apply to manage, coordinate, and supervise the design and construction of the planned new Central Library.

Snohetta, an international architecture firm with offices in Oslo and New York, will team up with Canadian firm DIALOG to oversee the design of the project.

MHPM as been hired to manage the project while Stuart Olson Dominion Construction will build the library.

The CMLC, working with a selection committee including the City of Calgary and independent architectural consultants,  received interest from firms as far away as Denmark and Japan. 38 bids were submitted, and narrowed down to a shortlist consisting of four firms.

The current Central Library was  constructed in two phases in 1963 and 1974 when Calgary’s population was still under 400,000.

With significant growth over the past 50 years, the City of Calgary says the existing library is unable to support the expanding operations of the Calgary Public Library.

The current Central Library is currently located in the heart of downtown while the new building will be built in Calgary’s East Village.

Planning for the $245 million project first began in 2004.

Construction work is expected to begin in early 2014 and the new library aims to open in 2018.