NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE

3rd place in an architectural competition in 2007
authors Petr Burian, Petr Hájek, Tomáš Hradečný, Jan Šépka
cooperation Lukáš Zimandl

We live in times when humanity has learnt to read the genomes or various organisms, including their own genome. We know the hereditary information contained in each of our cells. Our design was therefore inspired by the arrangement and the logical structure of a cell. The depository with the conservation fund forms the structural core of the building. A giant cylinder filled with the library collection is administered from offices and workshops arranged in rings around the core. The “national treasure” is thus stored in the very heart of the building. Areas open to public are situated in the next layer. This layout allows employees in the offices to operate effectively with the entire contents of the depository, as well as the public part of the building. The building is wrapped and protected by a transparent casing (cell membrane) with metal coating on the outside. The transparent shell provides natural light for the entire library and offers a view of Prague Castle from walkways on the southern side. The transparent dome creates the impression of a cathedral for books.