Elevation of National Library, Astana
The competition attracted 19 entrants - among them Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid - but BIG was the ultimate winner due to the modern, rational and classically anchored library vocabulary employed.
The new National Library will cover an area of 33.000m2 in the country's capital, Astana. BIG's winning proposal was chosen by Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Masimov, Astana's akim (mayor) Imangaly Tasmagambetov and a council of architects.
BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) was founded just three years ago by Bjarke Ingels, who, although just 35-years-old, is already famous for his playful and practical design approach. BIG has recently won competitions to design a city hall in Estonia, a museum in Mexico City - and last year won a World Architecture Festival Award for Best Residential Building.
The design of Kazakhstan's National Library combines four universal archetypes into a new national symbol: the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into a Möbius strip (a surface with only one side and only one boundary component).
Visitors will move seamlessly from the inside to the outside and from ground to the sky - all the while being able to view the surrounding landscape and growing city skyline.
The building comes across as local and universal, contemporary and timeless, unique and archetypal at the same time.
Representing the Kazakh national identity, the National Library will be the place where the citizens of Astana, the people of Kazakhstan, as well as foreign visitors explore the country's history, rich culture, new capital and the legacy of the country's first president.
Like Astana, which is located in the heart of the Kazakh mainland, the Library will be integrated into the heart of a re-created Kazakh landscape. The park around the building 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 'sense' the capital's transition across the country from Almaty to Astana in 1997.
Thomas Christoffersen, BIG's Project Leader said: "The public 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 a celestial vault", Kazinform refers to the press service of the Kazakhstan Embassy in Israel.