Restoration work, a new regional public library and civic accommodation for the existing Grade II listed town hall including the creation of a public square and park.

Won on competitive interview, Ferguson Mann Architects were invited to develop designs for Barry Town Hall, including a new wing to double the floor area of the building, the re-landscaping and integration of Central Park creating new public links to the re-developed public realm of Kings Square. Our main objectives were that the building and extension should deliver a proven environmental agenda providing a state-of-the art library which could meld with the original building. The landscape and public realm works were also a fundamental part of the project as they aimed to renew and reintegrate these spaces within the life of Barry town centre.

Ferguson Mann’s library extension follows a similar footprint to an unbuilt competition entry submitted in 1903, carefully connecting the new library extension via the existing town hall staircase. The east wing of the retained town hall provides civic accommodation linked with other civic rooms on the ground floor providing a new public gallery and exhibition space. The scheme achieved environmental targets, integrates passive design solutions at a strategic level and includes a biomass boiler heating system.

The uptake of library membership, together with a threefold increase in use, both testify to the popularity of the new facility.

A gateway connects the building to Central Park which now offers space and recreation for all ages and a series of sweeping terraces which re-establish the original setting of the Town Hall. Public meetings, exhibitions, youth gatherings and the development of a community parks group ensured the building and public spaces had public ownership before the project started. Mature cedar and pine trees give stature to the setting a schools’ art project run by an artist-in-residence, created a carved standing stone group that forms a focus to the route from King Square to the park.

The uptake of library membership, together with a threefold increase in use, both testify to the popularity of the new facility.