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The design for the New National Library of the Czech Republic is made up of three individual volumes stacked on top of each other, each one slightly offset. These three books inspired blocks contain the library space and the adjoining department offices and create the outer shell to hold the most valuable items are held within the central core of the National Archival collection. The volume of the library is set back from the Milady Horakove Avenue, creating a public square as a transition from the road into the highly public building. The upper volumes cantilever towards the road, sheltering the new urban space in front of the building and creating a focal point along this main urban artery.The National Archival collection is in the heart of the library and contains the most precious items of its collection. It is made up of a cube within the central void cut into the three stacked volumes establishing a constant presence within the library while being concealed and sheltered towards the city.The building is linked to the extensive park area of Letenska Plain through the cafe and bookshop in the south-east corner of the building, enabling the cafe to spread out into the park in summer.The public restaurant sits on the top floor and enjoys expansive views of Letenska Plain and the city of Prague, over the existing tree tops of the park.All the public spaces are linked with lift shafts and escalators through the central core of the National Archival collection forcing the visitors to penetrate the part of the building containing the most valuable pieces without actually entering it. The omnipresence of the Archive is enhanced with the material selection of a translucent cladding for the core, creating a radiant volume and allowing opportunities to glimpse into the protected area. The public spaces travel up through the library, creating multiple and precisely defined points of interaction.The central void around the core and additional double height spaces within the library link the different floor plates spatially. The main areas of the library are spread on the upper floors, raised up from the busier and more public ground and first floor.
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