Wates secures key pre-construction role on ground-breaking British Library project

Wates has been appointed as pre-construction stage partner on the ambitious and ground-breaking redevelopment of the British Library site at Boston Spa, West Yorkshire.
The 45-week PCSC (pre-construction services consultant) role will see Wates working alongside the client’s design team up to RIBA Stage 4 with services engineer, Buro Happold and London-based, architectural practice, Carmody Groarke.
The scheme involves the construction of a new 28m high, 5274m2 ground-breaking, fully automated net zero carbon archive building which will feature a public viewing gallery and 220km of extra shelf space together with an extensive renovation of the nearby 1970s Brutalist-style Urquhart Building for the library’s 550 on-site staff, including a new reading room, restaurant and café for visitors.
Sustainability will be an integral feature of this ambitious programme, including the creation of new and improved green spaces to support biodiversity and enhance the natural environment surrounding the site.
Working in close collaboration with its design team partners, Wates will work with its supply chain to help develop the design and accurately cost the project so that at the end of the 45-week period the final contract price can be agreed.
During this early phase, the contractor will also use its tried and tested approach to creating airtight buildings by constructing large-scale prototypes. These will be used to test the design theories needed to fulfil the exacting sustainability criteria – in the case of the new build, to achieve BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and Passivhaus Accredited ratings, while the renovated Urquhart Building has been designed to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’.
Phil Spence
Chief Operating Officer, British Library
David Wingfield
Regional Director North East, Wates Construction
In a second appointment, Wates began a significant programme of enabling works on the site in October, which also includes scoping surveys to inform the design and prepare for the main works which are due to start on site in May 2022.
Christine Lowry
Partner, Buro Happold
The British Library aims to open its new spaces at Boston Spa by 2026.