The Hive, Worcester

The Hive
Interactive map of The Hive
General information
Type	Library
Architectural style	Postmodern
Location	Sawmill Walk, The Butts, Worcester, England
Opened	2 July 2012 (2012-07-02)
Cost	£29.7 million
Client	Worcestershire County Council University of Worcester
Technical details
Floor area	12,371m2
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Structural engineer	Hyder Consulting Atelier One
Services engineer	Max Fordham
Other designers	Copper Cladding – Norman and Underwood Ltd
Main contractor	Galliford Try
Website
www.thehiveworcester.org

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 library houses over a quarter of a million books. ^[1]

History

The Hive was procured under a private finance initiative programme and was built by Galliford Try at a cost of £60 million. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

Aerial view of The Hive and surrounding landscape

The Hive during construction in June 2011

Awards

Awards include:

• Best new-build project of the year in the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Building Performance Awards 2013 ^[4]
• Sustainable Project of the Year in the Building Awards 2013 ^[5]
• Outstanding Library Team – Times Higher Leadership and Management Award – June 2013 ^[6]
• Sustainable Project of the Year – Building Magazine – April 2013 ^[7]
• Civic Trust Award – March 2013 ^[8]
• Contribution to the local community through The Hive – Guardian University Award – February 2013 ^[9]
• New build project of the year (value above £5 million) – CIBSE – February 2013 ^[10]
• Building Excellence Award – South Worcestershire Building Control – 2012 ^[11]
• BREEAM Outstanding 86.4% – June 2012 ^[12]
• Best Sustainability in a Project- Public Private Partnership Awards – May 2012 ^[13]

References

1. "The Hive Website". The Hive. The Hive, Worcester. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
2. "Footbridge installed at Worcester's Hive project". BBC. 19 September 2011.
3. "The day the Queen came to Worcester". Worcester News. 12 July 2012.
4. "Archive news from the Worcester News". worcesternews.co.uk.
5. "Hive's green theme helps it land award". Worcester News.
6. "University wins prestigious Times Higher Ward". Worcester University.
7. "Sustainable project of the year 2013". Building.
8. "The Hive". Civic Trust Awards.
9. "University of Worcester Scoops National Newspaper Award – The Hive". thehiveworcester.org.
10. "Hive Wins International Award – The Hive". thehiveworcester.org.
11. "Elections 2019 Results – Worcester City Council". worcester.gov.uk.
12. "The Hive". BREEM.
13. "The Hive scoops national sustainability award – The Hive". thehiveworcester.org.

Further reading

Better Public Libraries; Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment; 2003 RIBA Journal; April 2012 CIBSE Journal; March 2013

External links

• The Hive website
• University of Worcester, Library Services
• Architects : Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
• Engineers : Max Fordham
• Media related to The Hive, Worcester at Wikimedia Commons

52°11′38″N2°13′34″W / 52.1938°N 2.2260°W / 52.1938; -2.2260