Founding Swiss Cottage Library was planned as part of the Hampstead Civic Centre development by the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead in the 1950s, which was originally intended to offer a new master site for Hampstead's governance. In 1959, British architect Sir
Basil Spence of Spence, Bonnington & Collins created a scheme for the Civic Centre, including a library and sports centre (which contained the
swimming baths), on land purchased from the
Eyre and
Eton College (Chalcots) estates in 1956 at a cost of £200,000 (equivalent to £ million in ). Furthermore, the library, which was originally intended to be built next to Winchester Road, was instead moved west to be beside Avenue Road, to accommodate the changes. with the mayor, Luigi Carlo Denza, shovelling the first pile of earth for the site. Succeeding weeks brought difficulties due to
unusually heavy snow, leading to concrete needing additional protection. Later building strikes exacerbated the problem, and construction was delayed, but eventually finished in 1964.
Queen Elizabeth II opened the library as Hampstead Public Library on 10 November 1964. On opening, the library superseded Finchley Road Library as Hampstead's Central Library. Present, amongst others, were Councillor Luigi Carlo Denza, then Mayor of Hampstead, Basil Spence and Sir
Edwin McAlpine, acting head of the library's construction firm at the time. Its title as Hampstead Central Library was later amended in light of the Hampstead's amalgamation and it was renamed as Swiss Cottage Central Library before its shortened name today.
Refurbishment and expansion In 1989, Camden reported that the swimming baths were underperforming and that Swiss Cottage Library, then being the largest and most used in the borough, had structural issues that required immediate address, even after remedial works in 1984. The council announced in the late 1990s that it intended to regenerate Swiss Cottage Centre, and in 2003
John McAslan & Partners finished a refurbishment of Swiss Cottage Library to include a children's library and improved accessibility facilities, Camden originally planned to demolish the library with Swiss Cottage Sports Centre, following the library's refurbishment, the Council acknowledged that demolition "would have been a mistake". When Camden began irreversible works on the library in 1996, the then
Department for National Heritage warned them of
section 3 "spot-listing" powers they held, allowing them to list a building under emergency procedures if it was being considered for listing and at risk of demolition: English Heritage claimed their swift responses had been a result of a lack of notification for the developments in advance. In late 1997, English Heritage controversially decided to list the library, against the council's wishes. Camden Council opposed the listing vehemently from its first consideration in early 1996 and the
Evening Standard described the building, alongside the Swimming Baths, as a "drab concrete complex", with the
Ham & High additionally recording residents as calling the pair the "ugliest buildings in the borough", though most criticism was directed at the baths. Local councillors were dismayed and the Council argued it was more important to support private investors in funding a new library through the
private finance initiative than the maintenance of a building with chronic issues, whilst others argued listing would encourage a more preservative restoration. The refurbishment, despite being widely acclaimed, was subject to numerous delays and significantly overbudget, in part a result of the project's primary contractor going into administration; McAslan and Camden's relationship was described as "bumpy". McAslan defended the delays, arguing "It was less than 10% late", a comparatively small delay in construction, and commenting on additional removals needing to be carried out. Swiss Cottage Library, costing the council £1.2 million per year at the time, was on a list of potential libraries to be closed, with McAslan remarking that the library's closure would be a "tragedy" for the community. The library remained open and underwent a low-carbon retrofit in 2023. == Details ==