The city of Sydney is calling on architects to enter designs for a new library and public plaza at Green Square Town Centre which will have a total budget of $40 million.

$25 million has been set aside for the library which the City of Sydney wants to be sustainable in a similar way to the FJMT designed Surry Hills Library which features geothermal cooling bores, mixed mode ventilation, rainwater collection and recycling, and sustainable material selection.

Surry Hills Library. Images courtesy of Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT).

Bridget Smyth, Design Director for the City of Sydney said that Libraries have an evolving function due to a move away from traditional books and towards technology and she wants the winning design to reflect this.

"We think this is a great opportunity to re-think the contemporary library in our society," she said.

"The City's putting and enormous amount of effort and risk-taking innovation into developing green infrastructure so we want architects to respond to that."

"We want a building that really engages with the public through the kind of design of a very innovative way of thinking of a library for the future," said Smyth.

Surry Hills Library interior. Image courtesy of Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp

The new library and public plaza will aim to be a cultural centre for the suburbs of Rosebery, Zetland, Beaconsfield, Waterloo and Alexandria.

Sydney mayor Clover said of the competition:

"City of Sydney projects are world renowned for design excellence, innovation and environmental sustainability. We hope architects from around Sydney, Australia and the world will be inspired to work with the City of Sydney and the local community on our new Green Square project."

The area will potentially see the population grow from 11,000 currently to 40,000 by 2030 which is why the planning and infrastructure such as transport connections are being put into place.

The Green Square project is a transformation of 278 hectares of area south of the city with the aim of making it a sustainable urban space incorporating housing, open space, offices and shops.