Winner of an international competition to design the Astana National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan, the latest architectural design by Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) presents a symbiosis of nature and urbanity. Named after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the new National Library not only displays a detailed construction but also serves as an intellectual, multifunctional and cultural center for the visitors where they can explore the nation’s wide and rich history. While “the envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again.”
Encompassing an estimated 33.000m2 area, the library combines four universal archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol that will communicate with all segments, including civil servants, politicians, researchers, students, museum historians and staff, of the population. The library campus also includes a park that is designed like a living library of trees, plants, minerals and rocks allowing visitors to experience a cross section of Kazakhstan’s natural landscape.
Via: Archdaily/Designboom