Coventry's own peculiar university library - the Lanchester Library

If you're from Loughborough or have been to the university, you'll probably know that the university library, the Pilkington library, is a rather peculiar building, in that it takes the shape of an inverted pyramid and that its main entrance is on the third floor.

Coventry University has an odd library building too, situated just outside the city centre, next to the A4053 Ringway Whitefriars, and in close proximity to what's left of the friary that the road is named after. Enter the Frederick Lanchester Building.

In 1970, several colleges in Coventry merged to form the Lanchester Polytechnic, named after Frederick William Lanchester (1868-1946), an engineer who helped build cars in Coventry. It was renamed to Coventry Polytechnic in 1987 and became Coventry University in 1992 as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act which effectively turned all the British polytechnics into universities in their own right.

The Frederick Lanchester Building was opened in September 2000 and was officially opened by Princess Anne in September 2001. It is the largest deep-plan (whatever that is!) multi-storey naturally ventilated buildings in Europe and the first such building in the world.

The main reason why I wanted to see this building when I visited Coventry in June was its distinctive turreted exterior. The turrets are for ventilation in order to reduce energy consumption, but they remind me of the guard towers of a prison! That's what made me so interested!

Right, I  don't think I have anything else to say for now, so enjoy the pictures!