Flying video view of Birmingham's £188m library

A computer generated video tour of the new £188 million Library of Birmingham was launched today.

Bosses behind the ambitious project to create the largest library in Europe have also released images, including a cross section of the new 10-level building set to dominate the city's Centenary Square.

The library, which will cover 31,000 sq ft, is being built by Wolverhampton-based Carillion and is expected to create 250 jobs. Three million people a year are expected through the doors.

Work started on the building last January and it is expected to open in 2013.

The video "fly-through" opens outside the building, then takes the viewer through the front entrance and foyer, an area that will be connected to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

The tour continues through the building's lower ground floor, the new home of the children's and music libraries, and into the outdoor amphitheatre.

It then continues into the central rotunda at the heart of the building and finishes at its summit, which houses the wood-panelled Shakespeare memorial room from Birmingham's Victorian library.

Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, said "Over a year into the construction process, we are at a hugely exciting point in the Library of Birmingham project.

"The building is progressing at a truly phenomenal rate and taking shape right before people's eyes — while remaining on time and within budget.

"With the fly-through people can get a real sense of how our new library will look and feel inside and out.

"It further demonstrates our vision of transforming the city's library and archives services, providing a culturally significant destination for the 21st century."

The video has been produced by project architects Mecanoo.

As construction continues into its second year, current milestones include the recent completion of the floor at first floor level, with focus now turning to the decking for the second floor.

Following the temporary closure of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre last month site hoardings have been extended to envelope the theatre in readiness for preparatory works and partial demolition this month.

Later in 2011, milestones will include the topping out of the concrete frame after which windows will be put in. Library of Birmingham Project Director Brian Gambles said: "With anticipation rising as we edge closer to 2013, we are keen to keep the public informed as to the progress of the project.

"This fly-through video offers the first opportunity to take a preview of the completed building, and I am confident that the public will be impressed with the results." With a mission to transform public perceptions of libraries, new features in the Library of Birmingham will include a flexible studio theatre, a British Film Institute Mediatheque, and purpose-built exhibition space for Birmingham's internationally significant archives and heritage collections.

There will also be a teenage zone for young people to relax, meet friends and chill out, and a contemplation room for prayer and quiet thought.

There will be access from Centenary Square and a spacious open-plan foyer. In addition, public lifts will be large enough for wheelchair and pushchairs. The total cost of the library was reduced from £193 million to £188 million last year.

This investment covers the library and the building of new up-dated back of house facilities for the Rep Theatre.

The development started after the Government granted Birmingham immunity from the listing of the old Central Library, meaning it did not have to be preserved.

When the development was announced, regeneration chief Councillor Neville Summerfield said the project would "right the wrongs" of the 1970s which saw the current much-maligned Central Library built.