Varna National Library
Year2016
LocationVarna, Bulgaria
ClientBulgarian Ministry of Education
StatusCompleted
Area60000 m²
TypologyEducational
TeamAli Önalp, Burak Yardımcı, Erhan Arslan
The project aims to create an attraction center that responds to the flow of the city and to establish a public space integrated with Osmi Primorski Polk Boulevard, on which it is located.
The first design decision was to create an open passage through the structure along the axis of the pedestrian bridge that connects the entrance of the municipal building to the project site, dividing the building into two. Through this passage, the storage area (restricted access zone), which is one of the three zones of the program, is separated from the library section.
The public level created by the passage and connected to Osmi Primorski Polk Boulevard at ground level transforms from a private space accessible only to library users into a public urban space. Additionally, public staircases that connect the front plaza to the first floor are designed to host an open-access area that includes event spaces, a café, gathering, working, and reading areas.
On the upper floors, reading areas (controlled-access zones) are located around an atrium, thus creating a transition from public to private spaces.
