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ARCH 655 Parametric Modeling in Design

Project 1. National Library in Astana

My project is a national library designed by BIG.

BIG was awarded with the first prize on an open international design competition for  Kazakhstan’s new National Library in Astana in 2009.

 

The new building has an area of  33.000 sqm, arranged as a continuous circulation on a Möbius Strip, as the result of 2 interlocking structures: the perfect circle and the public spiral. The sections (see below) clearly show how the horizontal program shifts to a vertical configuration,  combining vertical hierarchy, horizontal connectivity and diagonal view lines. The skin, which changes from wall to roof as the strip develops. It sounds a bit complicated, but the sections and diagrams explain this pretty well, and you can get the idea on how the spaces and diagonal views relate on the renderings. In short words, a clear lineal organization (ideal for an archive, library) is mixed with an infinite loop.

 

General Information

Project: National Library in Astana, Kazakhstan

Architect: BIG

Client: Kazakhstan Presidential Office

Collaborators: ARUP AGU

Size: 33.000 M2

Location: Astana, Kazakhstan

Partner-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels

Project Leader: Thomas Christoffersen

Team: Amy Campbell, Jakob Henke, Johan Cool, Jonas Barre, Daniel Sundlin

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