Varna Public Library

Varna, Bulgaria

2015 competition, 3rd Prize

The impact of virtual and digital influence is often celebrated through social media and other mediums. We aspire to be more connected and exposed, redefining the role of public space. It is no longer mono-functional spaces that allows one program to manifest, rather have become platforms that allow anything to happen and different sections of society to meet.

Today, libraries are still functioning as a castle in a city, a place that holds books and allow readers to enjoy that moment.

Team: Erik Amir, Dora Chi, Ryo Otsuka, Jason Loo

Varna Library is designed to break the typical configuration of the library, liberating the ground as it becomes the “City Living Room”. A place where visitors and library-goers can meet, exchange ideas, and promote knowledge; while at the same time providing users an extension of their own living rooms.

The atrium serves as a vertical living room where sections of the library overlap and expose different kinds of social interaction. The design grows from the existing public space network, utilizing its physical relationship with the adjacent Municipal Hall; leading visitors strolling along Varna’s green public passage into the new Library.

Paying homage to Varna’s history with timber and commitment to sustainability; timber mullions provide warmth, elegance, and softness in contrast to the surrounding concrete neighborhood.