The City of Perth Library has, since its inception, been housed in a number of locations. The site is situated where the library had previously been housed in a now demolished building, in the basement.[4]
The earliest predecessor of the library was the Swan River Mechanics' Institute which was established in 1851.[5] The name was changed in 1909 to Perth Literary Institute, and in 1957 the City of Perth renamed and took over the library as the City of Perth Library.[6]
The subsequent buildings were Council House on St Georges Terrace (1963–1995), Law Chambers Building (1995–2012),[7] and 140 William Street (2012–2015).[3]
Delight and Hurt Not by Andrew Nicholls
Current building
Kerry Hill Architects were awarded the design tender for a new library in 2011.[8] The City of Perth awarded the $33 million construction contract to Doric Contractors, which began building works in 2013.[9] The library is the first civic building to be built by the City of Perth since the Perth Concert Hall in 1972.[10] Completion was expected by the end of 2014.[11] The new library opened on 1 March 2016.[12]
The library has a circular design with seven floors, glass facades, and stone-clad columns.[13] The building includes a 13-metre-tall (43ft) vertical garden, the tallest in Perth, with more than 3500 plants.[14] The ceiling features a mural by artist Andrew Nicholls entitled Delight and Hurt Not, depicting the final act of Shakespeare's The Tempest illustrated with Western Australian flora and fauna.
