Danish architects [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] have won an international competition to design the Astana National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan.

BIG’s design merges four forms - a circle, a rotunda, an arch and a
yurt - into an “infinite loop” with a single double-looping surface
plane covering the entire building.

Let’s leave it to the architects to explain better:
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BIG to design Kazakhstan’s new National Library in Astana.

Invited as one of five pre-selected architect led teams, BIG was
awarded first prize in an open international design competition which
included 19 entrants among others Lord Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid.

The new National Library, named after the first President of the
Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, encompasses an estimated
33.000m2. The winning proposal was chosen by the Prime Minister of
Kazakhstan K. Masimov together with Astana’s akim I. Tasmagambetov and
a council of architects. The design was hailed as being both modern and
rational and anchored in a classical vocabulary of traditional
libraries. The circular organisation of the archive at its inner core
combines the clarity of a linear organisation with the convenience of
an infinite loop.

“The design of the National Library combines four universal
archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol: the
circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into the form of
a Moebius strip. The clarity of the circle, the courtyard of the
rotunda, the gateway of the arch and the soft silhouette of the yurt
are combined to create a new national monument appearing local and
universal, contemporary and timeless, unique and archetypal at the same
time” - Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner on the Astana National Library
2009

Nation Building
Being one of the future cornerstones of Kazakh nation building, and
a leading institution representing the Kazakh national identity,
designing the library went beyond a mere architectural challenge. The
new National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital since 1997,
shall not only accumulate history but also provide a foundation for new
futures for the nation and its new capital. It will serve as an
intellectual, multifunctional and cultural center, with a primary goal
of reflecting the establishment and development of a sovereign
Kazakhstan, its political history, and the Head of the State’s
activities and role in the development of the country.

The National Library will be the place where the citizens of Astana,
the people of Kazakhstan as well as international visitors can come to
explore the country’s history, its diverse cultures, its new capital
and its first president. The Library will accommodate and communicate
with all segments of the population: civil servants, politicians,
researchers, students, museum historians and staff.

The Library is conceived as a symbiosis of urbanity and nature. Like
Astana, which is located in the heart of the Kazakh mainland, it will
be integrated into the heart of a re-created Kazakh landscape. The park
around the library is designed like a living library of trees, plants,
minerals and rocks allowing visitors to experience a cross section of
Kazakhstan’s natural landscape, and personally experience the capital’s
transition across the country from Almaty to Astana.

“What is a library but an efficient archive of books… and a path for
the public to reach them” - Thomas Christoffersen, the Project Leader
on the National Library

In the library they will be able to study the history of the Kazakh
culture and language present in the massive collection of books,
magazines, film and other media. The archive is organized as a circular
loop of knowledge, surrounded by light and air on both sides. On the
periphery a 360 degree panorama of Astana - at the heart of the
building a contemplative courtyard domed by the heavenly light blue of
the celestial vault. The simplicity and perfection of the infinite
circle allows for a crystal clear and intuitive orientation in the vast
and growing collection that will populate the shelves of the National
Library.

The ideal addition to the perfect circle will be a series of public
programs that simultaneously wraps the library on the outside as well
as the inside, above as well as below. Twisting the public program into
a continuous spiraling path tracing the library on all sides, creates
an architectural organization that combines the virtues of all 4
complimenting models. Like a Möbius strip, the public programs move
seamlessly from the inside to the outside and from ground to the sky
providing spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and growing
city skyline.

Möbius Strip
The 2 interlocking structures: the perfect circle and the public
spiral, create a building that transforms from a horizontal
organization where library museum and support functions are placed next
to each other, to a vertical organization where they are stacked on top
of each other through a diagonal organization combining vertical
hierarchy, horizontal connectivity and diagonal view lines. By wrapping
the transforming composition of spaces with a continuous skin we create
a Möbius strip volume where the facades move from inside to outside and
back again.

“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” -
Thomas Christoffersen, the Project Leader on the National Library

ASTANA NATIONAL LIBRARY CREDIT LIST:
ARCHITECT: BIG
CLIENT: Kazakhstan Presidential Office
COLLABORATORS: ARUP AGU
SIZE: 33.000 M2
LOCATION: Astana, Kazakhstan
STATUS: 1st Prize

Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels
Project Leader: Thomas Christoffersen
Team: Amy Campbell, Jakob Henke, Johan Cool, Jonas Barre, Daniel Sundlin


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Posted by Marcus Fairs from dezeen.com