It’s the National Library

SOME see it as a huge cruise ship. Others see a seven-tiered “Lego” building about which children dream. What is this magnificent structure revealed for all to see in the block between St Vincent, Abercromby, Queen and Hart Streets in the heart of Port-of-Spain?

It is the long-awaited National Library Complex which, in his first official act as President, George Maxwell Richards will open this evening at 6.30 pm. It cost $99 million but the cost is hardly an issue for those who have waited seven years to see it completed. The long-awaited Library Complex is finally a reality, and the large white imposing structure occupies several thousand square feet of land. Architect Colin Laird, who designed the structure, has his own way of seeing it. He described it as the “stepped back” look which he said was intentional, so the building does not block the Red House and other buildings in the vicinity.

The project has come full circle, starting under the People’s National Movement (Prime Minister Patrick Manning turned the sod in February, 1995), continuing with the United National Congress (UNC) and being completed by the PNM. Originally scheduled for completion in 22 months, the library took seven years because construction was stopped and alterations made in the design. The original plan was a four-storey structure to accommodate the needs of a modern library facility. When the UNC government took office, work was halted for over a year. It restarted in April 1998, when the plan was adjusted and the structure and its cost mushroomed after three floors were added. The floor area was increased from 180,000 to 240,000 square feet.

Woodbrook-based construction firm RK Plummer and Associates was awarded the contract as it was the lowest bidder among the seven contractors who tendered for the project. But the company’s contract was terminated in July of 1998. Commenting on this development, Works Minister at the time Sadiq Baksh said any contractor who didn’t perform well would suffer the same fate. He said everything possible would be done to ensure the project was completed “without compromising its integrity and time frame.” Financiers of the library, Republic Finance and Merchant Bank (FINCOR) had advised that termination of the contract became necessary to ensure that the project was completed in a manner consistent with the specifications of the contract.

Work was expected to resume in the latter half of 1999 and December 2000 was the target completion date. The task of finishing the multi-million dollar library went to Carillion (Caribbean) Ltd, which began clearing the site of overgrown weeds in December 1999. Construction would begin the following year. Apart from accommodating adult and children’s reading sections, the new library has a health service area and cinema. On the outside is an ampitheatre which can accommodate 500 people. Each of the four floors occupied by the National Library Information Systems has seminar rooms. Two hundred computers will be available for the public to use. The historic old Fire Service building has been incorporated into the structure to serve as a restaurant and refreshment area. The Ministry of Public Administration is renting floors 5-7 as office space.

The water supply for the library has been centralised to be away from where books are stored. Sunlight filtering through a cone located at the top of the library will provide natural lighting during the day.  A special white paint was used to prevent the building losing its clean white facade for 20 years. Chief Architect Colin Laird yesterday expressed pride at the finished structure, whose architectural style he described simply as “Trinidadian, modern.”