Describing the form of the building as an "arrangement of staggered shallow boxes", or "a joggled heap of books" Pearman suggests that the facade of the library is either "enriched or disguised, depending on your preference" by the "highly-worked geometrical outer casing of interlocking aluminium circles" that define it's aesthetic. It is, however, "by no means a skin-deep building", arguing that "the architecture gets richer on the inside."
"What I like about it is the fact that it is anything but apologetic. It’s not shoved into a corner somewhere. It’s a proud new civic building, at a time when very few of those are being built. It says that there is something to city life that is about more than working and shopping and drinking, that learning and entertainment can co-exist, and so can analogue and digital. That one can look beyond the politics of class and envy, and provide a gracious place of common resort. The architecture will quickly become a period piece. That’s fine too, so long as it hangs together: all being well, it will mark a moment of enlightenment, emerging from dark times.