all renderings © Karol Borkowski, courtesy of Spatial Practice

Hong Kong-based architecture firm Spatial Practice has won the 3rd prize with the design of new Varna Public Library in Varna Library International Architecture Competition. The winning project breaks the ground between public space and human interaction in library design compared to others- the building is tectonically arranged with wooden materials that creates dynamic facade by using slender, vertical columns, flowing through space from top to down. 

Varna Library is designed to break the typical configuration of a library, a place where the ground is liberated and become the "City Living Room”. A place where visitors and library goers can meet and exchange ideas and promote knowledge, while at the same time allow citizens to have an extension of their own living room.

The atrium serves as a vertical living room allowing sections of the library to overlap and expose different kinds of visitor interaction - to meet and exchange ideas - the Vertical human promoter. The design grows from the existing public space network, utilizing its unique site relationship with the adjacent Municipal Hall; as visitors strolling along Varna’s green public passage are led into the new Library. The green belt is extended into the design with green pockets on every platform of “Knowledge” seamlessly integrating landscape with reading spaces; thus blurring the relationship between close and open.

The library floats above the heavy concrete archives that hold Varna’s library archive collection and history. The relationship between old and new, past and future is conceptually built to help mitigate the relationship. Recalling Varna's history with timber and commitment to sustainability timber mullions provide warmth, elegance and softness to the surrounding concrete neighborhood.

The folding facade lures visitors into the internal street; bringing a new element to the existing public space system. The rigid, flexible floor plates become playful with free flowing reading spaces at its periphery. The library embodies the idea of reading on a wooden terrace, feeling a gentle breeze, overlooking the sea.

site plan

"Today, the impact of virtual and digital influence is often celebrated through social media and other mediums. We live in a world today that aspires to be more connected and exposed therefore the role of public space is redefined. Public space is no longer traditional mono-functional spaces that allows one program to manifest, rather are platforms that allows anything to happen and different sections of society could meet. Libraries today are still functioning as a castle in a city, a place that holds books and allow readers to enjoy that moment. The relationship between in and out, old and new, archive and collection is seen as a wind that pushes you to the future rather than an anchor that holds you back" explains Spatial Practice.

Project Facts

Client: Municipality of Varna 

Location: Varna, Bulgaria

Project Area: 17,235 m2 (above ground) 11,000 m2 (below ground)

Number of Stories: 8 (above ground) 3 (below ground)

Building Height: 30.5m

Program: Public Library

Status: Competition (3rd)

Project Team: Erik Amir, Dora Chi, Jason Loo, Ryo Otsuka, Eric Yuen

> via Spatial Practice