The Jubilee Library, Brighton

I went down to Brighton today and used the (somewhat gruelling) Park & Ride bus service. Going back to the car park at Withdean Stadium takes longer than going out and is a constant stop start all the way and takes at least half an hour, maybe more. It's even nicer when you have a 3 year old shouting right behind you for 20 minutes or more as I did going back! Despite this, it does give you a chance to view a wide range of interesting buildings and houses from Victorian to 1930's and the Brighton & Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College in Neo-Georgian style built in the 1900's and the first large school to be built by the contractor working at the school where I work at the moment.

Otherwise it was a very successful day and I had plenty tp photograph, but it was very crowded and due to ugly fencing around the famous Pavillion, I wasn't able to take a decent enough picture of it! At least there were other things to look at!

I don't usually photograph very modern buildings unless they are interesting, but with Gerda in mind I thought this would make a change! This is Brighton's Jubilee Library, opened on World Book Day, 3 March 2005. It has won 14 awards for it's architecture and design features. It uses solar power and wind power for heating and electricity and the loos are flushed with recycled rainwater - so it is very eco-friendly! It is a striking building and has regenerated a rather rundown part of the city centre as a result. It is apparently, the 5th most successful public library in the UK with nearly 1 million visits every year and issuing over 500,000 items per annum! It is open 7 days a week and hosts 500 events every year. So it was money well spent by the Local Authority!