Birmingham, Birmingham (FUA), United Kingdom
City population: 3558916
Duration: 2012 – 2013
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: 35000 m2
Type of area: Central Business District / City Centre, Building
Last updated: September 2024

Birmingham faces several immediate risks due to climate change, including heatwaves, water shortages from droughts, floods, and extreme weather (Ref 11). To address these challenges, Birmingham City Council has set a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2027. As part of this effort, the new Birmingham Library project, initiated by the council, includes a rooftop garden designed to contribute to this target (Ref 3). The library was designed by the Dutch firm Mecanoo Architecten, with a design process spanning from 2008 to 2012 (Ref 5). The two outdoor rooftop gardens, located on levels 3 and 7, were completed in 2013 (Ref 1). These gardens provide green spaces in the city center, enhance water management through rainwater harvesting, serve as educational facilities for sustainable food innovation, and create natural habitats for wildlife (Ref 1, 3, 4, 6). Their contributions helped the library achieve a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating and have garnered various awards (Ref 1, 10). The new library aligns with Birmingham City Council's Big City Plan to regenerate the city center, with the green roof gardens playing a key role (Ref 4).

The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
Frosts Landscapes Construction Ltd.

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Community gardens
  • Nature on buildings (external)
  • Green roofs

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Habitat and biodiversity restoration
  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Flood protection
  • Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable consumption
  • Sustainable production

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Urban flooding (stormwater)
  • Drought
  • Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
  • Extreme weather events (e.g. storms, hurricanes)

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Creation of green roofs and walls, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs

Project objectives

1. To help achieve Birmingham’s target to cut carbon emissions by 60% before 2027 and to respond to the impacts of climate change such as extreme weather and fluctuating rainfall (Ref 3, 4, 5) 2. To erect a green roof garden that helps managing storm water by harvesting rainwater, harvests grey-water and attenuates rainwater (Ref 4, 5, 8). 3. To provide access to green spaces in the heart of the city(Ref 3, 4) 4. To enhance biodiversity by providing a natural center habitat for wildlife and incorporating species intended to attract local wildlife (Ref 1, 3, 4) 5. To provide an educational facility where schools and local groups can gather to learn what can be grown successfully on a roof terrace as the intervention included a small edible garden as well as part of the green roof created (1)

Implementation activities

1. The intervention included the building of two roof terraces with 9000 plants and recreation facilities, both accessible by the public. 2. The granite paved terrace boasts a performance space, a children’s playspace, a bar area and other seating areas on level 3. 3. The intervention also has an allotment style edible planting area with over 3500 edible plants planted on level 3, the products grown here being harvested and used within the library kitchens. It also provides an educational facility for schools and local groups. 4. The natural garden on one of the levels of the terrace has paths surrounded by a carpet of ground cover plants in coping with more extreme weather and to attract birds, bees and insects. 5. The project also included three bird boxes positioned across both terraces within the shrub areas out of disturbance hoping to attract Starlings, Robins and Blackbirds; Three insect boxes across each terrace to increase biodiversity and aid natural pollination of the plants. (Ref 1)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation
  • Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater

Climate change mitigation:

  • Raise public awareness of behaviours, lifestyle and cultural changes with mitigation potential

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
  • Public engagement

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
  • Private sector/Corporate/Company
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Young people and children
  • Marginalized groups: Children, young people or youth groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Taskforce groups
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The roof gardens at the Library of Birmingham was initiated and commissioned by Birmingham City Council, designed by the Dutch architects Mecanoo Architecten and installed by a private constructions company and a landscaping company responsible for the landscaping work of the terraces. A series of workshops were undertaken during the concept and scheme design process to enable the briefing and whole building design approach to be developed. These workshops were attended by several experts representing landscaping, architectural companies and the city council (Ref 1, 4). The Library was funded mainly through a Government loan scheme, which gave local authorities preferential rates (Ref 6). Public private partnerships exist throughout the project between Birmingham City Council and private companies such as Mecanno (Ref 1, 3, 4). The project is part of the Birmingham City Council’s Big City Plan and Birmingham Development Plan 2031. (3,4,5)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes ( Birmingham Development Plan 2031 and the Big City Plan (Ref 3, 4, 5). )

Type of enablers

Technological innovations, Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public national budget

Type of funding

  • Loan

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Reduced emissions
  • Achieved reduced emissions
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved waste management
  • Achieved improved waste management
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved stormwater management
  • Achieved improved stormwater management
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Achieved increased green space area

Economic impacts

  • Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
  • Achieved increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved liveability
  • Expected improved liveability
  • Increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Expected increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
  • Expected enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Achieved improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Increased appreciation for natural spaces
  • Expected increased appreciation for natural spaces

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
Frost Landscapes (n.d.). Birmingham Library. Frost Landscapes, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Wallington, J. (2016). From the streets: Library of Birmingham’s rooftop secret garden and futuristic municipal design. Jack Wallington, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Birmingham City Council (n.d.). Birmingham Library. Birmingham City Council, p. Chap. 8 [Source link];
4.
Hornshaw M. (2013). BREEAM Case Study: The Library of Birmingham Carillion Construction Services. Carillion, Accessed on August 8, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Mecanoo (n.d.). Library of Birmingham Facts and Figures. Mecanoo, Accessed on August 12, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Birmingham City Council (2017). Birmingham Development Plan 2031. Birmingham: Birmingham City Council, p. 67-81 Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Buro Happold (n.d.). Engineering the Library of Birmingham. Buro Happold, p. 28-30 Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Staying Cool (n.d.). Green spaces in Birmingham. Staying Cool, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Case C. (2023). The Secret Rooftop Garden On The Library Of Birmingham Offers The Best Views Of The City. Secret Birmingham, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Radmat (n.d.). Library of Birmingham. Radmat, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Office for National Statistics (2023). 2021 Census Area Profile for Birmingham Local Authority, England Country and E00046370 Output Area. 2021 Census, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
Frosts Landscapes Construction Ltd.
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
Frosts Landscapes Construction Ltd.
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
Frosts Landscapes Construction Ltd.
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
The green roof garden at the Library of Birmingham
Frosts Landscapes Construction Ltd.
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.