The library of the School of Pharmacy UCL is the only dedicated library of Pharmacy in the UK. MBA were selected as architects after an invited competition to create humane, accessible and inspiring places for study, research and information exchange. The project involved: Making a new entrance to the library from the main reception. Reorganising the library into acoustic zones: entrance and welcome, group study, individual quiet study and book stack areas. Emphasising natural light and using the height of the existing building enclosure to the full, including new skylights to reduce dependence on artificial light. Using active and passive acoustics to contain sound without fully enclosing the quiet spaces. Purpose-designed furniture was installed including the entrance workstations, reception desks, study carrells and acoustic screens to provide areas for group study. The whole library was conceived as a 'landscape and soundscape of the enquiring mind'. The first design principle was to remove all unnecessary obstruction to height and light, introducing new natural light and ventilation in key locations. Connecting the library to the rest of the building involved changing the entrance, rehabilitating a passage into the library through a previous extension. Thereafter the main project innovations are acoustic: The entranceway was made deliberately reverberant to make people self conscious of their own sound and therefore modify their behaviour as they enter the library. In the study areas concave study carrells were constructed: acoustically soft and absorbent on the inside, hard natural oak on the outside, with floating acoustic ‘clouds’ above to absorb escaping sound. The ceiling creates an artificial acoustic ‘sky’ above the study area. The passive acoustic measures are supported by a system of speakers generating “pink noise” to ensure privacy on the rare occasions when the passive design is over-stretched. The library works well in practice and was nominated for a SCOLA award in 2013.