Historic red brick building with decorative stone accents, large windows, and a sign that reads 'Everton Library.'

Existing Library Front Elevation

Everton Library

Campaign to re-establish technical institute in Victorian Jewel

The Grade-II listed library and technical institute was first opened in 1896, issuing over 400,000 books in its first year and cementing its status as a much-loved haven for learning in a densely populated neighbourhood of the city. This gem was aptly gifted it’s local name of the ‘Jewel on The Hill’. Following it’s closure in 1999, the condition of the library has deteriorated significantly and a campaign to restore the library has focussed on proposals to save the Victorian jewel by re-establishing the home of the technical institute as a base for developing green construction skills in the region. It will also house a genealogy library to capture the work of the Lost Tribe of Everton - those who were moved from the old terraced streets from the so-called slum clearances of the 1960s and never forgot their former spiritual home. The library captures the spirit of the place, connecting views to Anfield, and the wider city beyond. 

Colorful cutaway illustration of a multi-story building with various rooms and activities inside, including people dancing, working, and socializing across different sections and floors.
An architectural model or illustration of a multilevel building with interior spaces depicted in different colors, showing various people engaging in activities such as walking, sitting, and looking at art.

Paper Section through proposal for Everton Library

Colorful paper cutout art depicting a multi-story building with numerous people engaging in various activities such as sitting, walking, and fishing on balconies, on a multi-story building with various colors and architectural details.
Architectural model of a multi-story building with inner structure visible, including floors, walls, and scaled human figures.
Multi-level architectural model with cutout figures of people dancing, walking, and working, set against colorful backgrounds of yellow, red, and green walls.
A multi-story building with colorful balconies and outdoor seating, resembling an architectural model with outlines of people. There are signs indicating it is the Everton Library, built in 1896.
Ground floor plan of a building with rooms labeled for a cafe, bookshop, gallery, event space, and various storage and office areas, with color coding for different sections.
A panel discussion in a church with four women seated and one woman standing with a microphone. There is a large stained-glass window behind them depicting biblical scenes.

Ground Floor Spatial Plan

Community sustainbility talks including HSA’s Kaite Beeby

As part of our involvement in campaigning to restore Everton Library with Polly Port CIC, we have contributed to a number of community engagement events from celebrating the Library’s 125th birthday, through a weekend long of creative and cultural activities for all ages, to organising a series of local talks on intangible heritage, zero carbon buildings and community energy hubs to open a discussion on restoring the library. Each event has built advocacy in the community, helping to establish how people can best deploy their skills throughout the library restoration campaign and restoration itself through activating ambassadors and strengthening future governance which is bottom up.

Four men walk beside a large statue of a person, with one man pushing a trolley under the statue. The statue is decorated with paper flowers. The men are smiling and appear to be participating in a festive event on a sidewalk in a neighborhood with trees and houses.
Sketches and drawings of buildings, architectural details, and landscape elements displayed on clipboards and sheets on a table in a room with wooden floors and some people in the background.

125th Anniversary Celebrations

People standing in line outside a large white event tent at night, with some red lighting inside, in a residential neighborhood with houses and trees visible in the background.

Draw the library event

A girl with long black hair drawing on a sketchpad while sitting on a small portable stool on the sidewalk, with a large historic brick building across the street in the background.

It gained the local name the ‘Jewel on the Hill’

Red flyer hanging on a clothesline with clothespins, promoting the open Everton Library events including Spring talks and workshops.
Open brochure hanging on white brick wall, displaying basement plan and an aerial cityscape with trees and brick buildings.
People sitting and standing inside a large tent decorated with string lights, during an indoor event or gathering at night.
Musicians performing live in a white tent, including a man playing clarinet, a woman on drums, and a man on guitar, with a small dog on the stage.
Nighttime outdoor scene with a brick wall projecting a large illuminated 'OPEN' sign, with silhouettes of two people chatting in the foreground.
Aerial view of a residential neighborhood with brick houses, trees, streets, a small park, and an old brick building with a turret at the intersection, taken during daytime with sunlight lighting up the scene.
3D scan of an abandoned, dilapidated building interior with multiple floors and damaged walls.

Aerial Image Stratus Imagerly

Matterport Scan

Related Projects

The Arncliffe Centre

Retrofit vision for community & sport centre

The Changing Rooms

Community sustainable retrofit of derelict building

Park Palace Ponies

Theatre converted into urban riding school