Lewis & Hickey were appointed as Architects and Lead Consultant for the £36 million refurbishment of the University of Edinburgh’s Main Library building in George Square, Edinburgh.This A-listed building, designed by Sir Basil Spence, Glover & Ferguson has been highlighted as a good example of Modernist design. Whilst retaining the majority of its original design features it required a complete up-grade to meet the requirements of a modern research and learning environment.The library refurbishment is the largest of a range of projects that Lewis & Hickey will be carrying out for Edinburgh University and will be phased over a 7 year period to ensure service continuity throughout the works. The extensive works include repairs to the fabric of the building, renovation of finishes and the complete renewal of all building services. A new Special Collections, Archive and Research Centre area is formed on the top two floors and future phases will include the remodelling of the entrance area, formation of a 220 seat cafe with internet facilities and the insertion of a mezzanine gallery and exhibition space.A degree of flexibility has been designed into the floor layouts and services installations to allow for possible internal reconfigurations to suit future changes in use patterns.