The city of Kazan has several Parks related to various public figures, events, these parks are aimed at the conduct of mass and cultural events. But all of them are located far from the central part of the city, or are not being universal spots where the citizens of the city of all ages, tastes and generations can meet. The basis for the development of the project of National library of Tatarstan Republic is the idea of creation of cultural center of Kazan which can be formed with the aid of architecture of various scale and forms. The library itself is an object of culture, that is why all buildings of the library and the territory nearby shall outline it and create the atmosphere of cultural environment. This approach can be realized though the creation of the complex of architectural buildings and parks. Also the peculiarities of the land plot which was granted have one major condition – the hill located on this land plot must remain unchanged, and the building of the library shall harmoniously accompany it. However, in order to reach the desired result the hill has to undergo special “treatment”.
Consequently, the solution was developed – the hill will be made from concrete structure with grass on top of it, which leaves the look of Butlerova and Nekrasova streets unchanged.
The project clearly defines four zones: zone of halls, storage zone, administrative zone and car park. The last one is located inside the body of the hillзона and can provide 300-400 car spaces for administration and visitors of the building. This way, the problem of the car loads on the nearest streets is being successfully resolved.
On top of the hill the Building of the monumental type of the National library is located, this building forms some sort of a peak of the “iceberg”. This is the main building of the complex – monumental structure with 4 towers around it, which jointly create an ensemble of large scale and medium scale architectural forms. With regards to the engineering solution, these towers house a lot of ventilation shafts. The architecture of the building was planned in order to allocate the main entrance on the main side of the building – similar to the building of Kazan Financial University which is located on the very top of the hill. The main building contains only part of the halls, the remaining halls are located inside the hill on the sides of the building, and the illumination in them is not obstructed in any way, because they have clear ceiling.
One of the main areas of the complex is the area designated to parks. It is represented by the lower park, upper park and the park behind the main building. All these parks are located above the premises of the library – parking, halls four level book storage which is located in between the two buildings of the library. The author also included the idea of connecting the existing “Hermitage” park with the park zone of the library through the gallery, consequently including it in the overall ensemble. Practically, the second building will be a bridge between the two hills. The unity of all these parks will form a social magnet for all the citizens of the city.
In front of the main building there will be a pond which contains 16 meter waterfall in the semicircular form of the main building, bridges which will serve as rostrums for spectators of the mini-theatre and light and music fountain at the bottom, which will inevitably attract the citizens of the city in the evenings and make them glad.
The slope of the waterfall contains sculptures from three houses with wings on the cliff of the fountain. The building of the library contains a lot of sculptures, which are the allegories of art, science, technology, development and progress, which suit the status of any library.
With regards to the internal part of the complex, it is very comfortable and convenient. The engineers have created a lot of elements inside the building, entrances for trucks to the book storage area, convenient access to car park and many other important things.
