BIG to design Kazakhstan's new National Library

Denmark-based BIG architect has won the competition to design a new National Library, named after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in the capital Astana.

The 33000 m2 project, which was described by the judges as "being both modern and rational and anchored in a classical vocabulary of traditional libraries", is in the form of intertwined loops that form a Möbius strip.

Commenting on the design, BIG's Bjarke Ingels, who is also a founding partner of the Astana National Library, said, "The design of the National Library combines four universal archetypes across space and time into a new national symbol: the circle, the rotunda, the arch and the yurt are merged into the form of a Möbius strip."

Visitors to the library will find a "massive" archive of material chronicling the history of the Kazakh culture and language. The archive is organized as a circular loop of knowledge, surrounded by light and air on both sides.