The Norrish Central Library’s dramatic curving form and strong concrete towers are clearly reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum (1959), which Norrish visited before design work started. The building has two faces: the billowing library floors and the administration block with its dramatic dark glass entrance framed by two ribbed concrete staircase stacks. One has a modelled head, echoing the Brutalist Tricorn Centre by Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon. Excerpt from Celia Clark’s article in: SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey. Catalog DAM + Wüstenrot Foundation, Zurich (Park Books) 2017

In use. The building continues to operate as Portsmouth Central Library, also housing the Portsmouth History Centre and archives, exhibition and event spaces, a café, and various community services.

Portsmouth Central Library sits within the Victoria Park conservation area established in 1973.

The University of Portsmouth has proposed a research project entitled “Portsmouth Central Library: Architect’s Folly or Brutalist Masterpiece,” focusing on the building’s architectural significance, physical condition, and long-term conservation. The project aims to develop conservation and management strategies while exploring ways to strengthen the library’s role as a community hub and improve its relationship with the surrounding Guildhall Square. It is aligned with the Portsmouth History Centre Development Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2027 (last updated on October 26, 2026).