NATIONAL LIBRARY
APROACH IN THE CITY THROUGHT NEW FACILITIES Student: Supervisor:
Atnan Kryeziu Krist Andoni
The focus of this study is the current situation of the building that hosts our National Library of Albania, situated in the center of the capital city, Tirana. As a place of exchanging information, inspiration and expression of ideas, a library has high demands in terms of functions and with the additional fact of the location being the capital’s city center, then the task is far from easy. The problems start from the lack of offices and facilities up to the preservation of the old fund. This extremely precious fund, which has been particularly enriched during the recent decades, has also contributed to the lack of of storing premises. Another very important problem, also a consequence of the world’s digitalization process, is the fact that the library is being abandoned day by day from the youth. The main goal for the proposed project was to build a new library able to resolve the problems present in the National Library and to relieve it from its current state. The chosen location for the new | 186
library was in Tirana’s downtown, in the exact location of the old train station. The idea was to have as many green areas around the building as possible in order to get people’s attention, especially that of youth. The architecture selected for this project was that of a flat library with visibly-dominant staircase in the main façade in order to as much attention as possible, become a reference point for the city and a connection bridge between the south pole, The Polytechnic Corps University, and the north pole created from the extension of the “Zogu I” boulevard axis. In this regard, this fraction of the main boulevard was thought to be underground. Finally, this search aimed to point out that a properly designed and maintained library will encourage citizens and, especially young people, to contribute towards improving our life. It must be a connection point for generations in terms of exchanging culture.