Mecanoo has won the competition to design the new Birmingham Library, beating fellow Dutch stars OMA along with Foster & Partners, Foreign Office Architects, Hopkins, Wilkinson Eyre and Schmidt Hammer Lassen.

The £193 million project will replace John Madin’s Central Library, and will also provide facilities for Birmingham Repertory Theatre as part of a new cultural centre in Centenary Square, which the council hopes will spark an architectural renaissance in the city.

Mecanoo founder Francine Houben said: "We are excited to have been selected to design a library integrated with the famous Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which will become the social heart of the city.

"Mecanoo loves to create unforgettable collective spaces, inside and outside. We hope to create a people’s palace - warm and welcoming."

Mecanoo was founded in 1984, and is based in Delft with previous projects including the library for the city’s Technical University {1998}.

Mike Whitby, the Tory leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "With their creativity, vision, experience and international pedigree, I believe Mecanoo are the perfect choice to help us deliver an innovative world-class building which the people of Birmingham can be truly proud of.

"Their enthusiasm and understanding for the project, coupled with a track record for delivering visually exciting yet practicable and user friendly buildings, really made them stand out."

Previous plans for a £180 million library in the Eastside area of the city, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, were abandoned by the Conservative and Lib Dem run council in 2005.

Madin’s 1973 library was turned down for listing by then architecture minister Kay Andrews in 2005, but last month English Heritage resubmitted it for listing at grade II.

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