Culture / Competition / Varna Municipal Library

Our proposal takes in serious consideration a simple yet profound proposition : how do we build to maximize openess, how can a Library, and in particular the New Library of Varna go beyond its obvious function to act as a catalyst of urban connectivity and a generator - facilitator of events?

The design for the New Library is built around three core concepts : 
- A clear vertical organization, following the axiom that, the closer to the street a function is, the more public its nature.
- A desire for maximized organizational flexibility and adaptability to compensate for future functional needs.
- A vivid outer form that will pose a compelling addition to the city skyline. 


Addressing such requirements, the functional units are stacked following a gradient of more to less public. Following the same gradient, the clear floor heights gradually decrease, while the outer glass skin morphs from completely transparent on the ground level, to semi-transparent and almost opaque on the upper levels. The building is envisaged as the analog model of a large tent : a simple, elegant form draped over volumes of program. Under such tent, functions are not fully determined and are left open to future reinterpretations.

The idea of a large drape is expressed vividly on the outer form of the building.
 

Name

Varna Municipal Library

Type

Competition

Year

2015

Location

Varna, Bulgary

Client

City of Varna

Status

Submitted

Size

18.000 m²

Team

D.Zoupas, I.Giannakopoulou, I,Zindrou
lobby

lobby entrance

Ground Floor PLan

Ground Floor PLan

Site Plan

Site Plan

Night View

Night View

entrance view _ glass skin

entrance view _ glass skin

1

Library Stacks

2

Children Reading Area

functional diagram

functional diagram

                         section

section

Aerial View

Aerial View