The Forum, Norwich

The Forum is a public building in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The building opened in 2001 and was designed by the British architectural firm Sir Michael Hopkins and Partners. It was built to serve as a replacement to the Norwich Central Library, which burnt down on the site in 1994. After a proposal for a site named Technopolis was rejected, a second version, which was named New Technopolis before changing to the Forum, was constructed. The Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library sits to the west end of the building, with office and commercial spaces and studios for the BBC around a main atrium. The building is fronted by a glass façade with a surrounding brick wall and inner steel frame supporting a glass and zinc panel roof. The project cost £66 million (equivalent to £124 million in 2025), of which £31 million (equivalent to £58 million in 2025) was from the Millennium Commission. The library has been named one of the most popular in the country, while The Forum is a venue for public events and festivals and the outside plain hosts live performances. Despite winning several awards, the building has been criticised for its use of materials and has been likened to a shopping mall and airport terminal.