Winchester Discovery Centre, Hampshire, South East England
Project description
Winchester Discovery Centre is a flagship contemporary development located at the heart of Winchester’s cultural quarter. Comprising a high quality library, exhibition space, art gallery & studio and performance hall, the centre offers the local and wider community access to an exciting and diverse range of learning, leisure and creative facilities. The modern refurbishment of a traditional Corn Market Exchange building is complemented by a contemporary extension incorporating an impressive courtyard and pavement frontage, café and Performance hall.The Discovery Centre is a space to relax, with listening posts, plasma screen and wi-fi points, so you can use your laptop while enjoying a drink from the café-bar. It also has a retail area, and express section with a fast checkout system and a self issue terminal with the latest smart chip technology.Situated in the heart of historic Winchester it is full of colour, modern art, free internet, Big Brother sofas, and over 100,000 books and media to borrow.The project is being conducted by:
- Hampshire County Council
- Winchester City Council
Aims and objectives
The Discovery Centre was created to transform an existing community space and provide new opportunities for performance and creativity, enjoyment and participation in music and literature, as well as a range of activities and events for all age ranges and local groups in the community.
Learning is really at the heart of this development. Whether it is encouraging creativity or providing the opportunity to develop skills, the centre offers something for everyone.
Project Start Date and End Date
The project began in 2003 and was completed in November 2007.
Services offered
In addition to the library services, the Discovery Centre provides:
- City Space - a specially designed exhibition space for local artwork and historical artifacts
- A café and bar area
- Performance hall - which hosts a range of events including theatre, film screenings, dance and live music
- Conference and theatre venue – in the 182 seater capacity hall
- An exhibition gallery – hosting local and national museum and art exhibitions
- Modern IT learning suite including free computer access and wireless internet
- A range of learning courses including IT skills, photography and free CV writing lessons
- A local history hub which offers a series of talks, workshops and other activities about local and family history
The library, which was originally an historic Grade 2 listed Corn Exhange building, provides free access to over 50,000 books. Free computer access and wi-fi is provided throughout the building.
Success factors
The Winchester Discovery Centre opened its doors for the first time in November 2007. In its first year of operation there were over 500,000 visits (November 2007-November 2008), a 55% increase on the previous library visits. Issues of books and other items also increased by 20% in the first year.
The project has won several awards celebrating its excellence in both design and purpose. In 2008 the Centre was awarded both the Sustainability Award and the Overall Award at the ICE (South Branch) Construction Awards. The building also received a Commendation at the Civic Trust Awards in 2009.
In October 2009 the centre was the winner of the prestigious Public Library Building Award for Architecture meets Practicality. The award recognises new or refurbished libraries of architectural interest which provide practical solutions to users needs- delivering the needs of a 21st Century public service.
Business/operational model
The centre was principally funded and managed by Hampshire County Council. They also worked in partnership with Winchester City Council to fund and manage the City Space exhibition area.
Measurement and Monitoring
The success and progress of the Centre is measured in a number of ways including:
- An increase in the number of people using the facilities
- In house designed customer surveys in order to measure customer satisfaction
- Online customer feedback review
Future developments
The programme of events and activities is continually developed to respond to the demands of the local community. The development is focused on involving volunteers and community groups in the future of the centre.
A strategy is being developed for continued investment over the next five years, to build the new role of the Discovery Centre and respond to a changing population and culture for accessing public library services.
Three more city-centre based discovery centre are planned. Each Hampshire Discovery Centre will be different - designed to reflect the unique ‘local’ qualities of the people and communities it serves. The county’s vision and commitment to invest has encouraged local districts to work in partnership to improve provision in their area.
