IMAGE B – A GREAT PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE

The National Library (Minsk, Belarus) 2002-2006

Lighting Design: WALTER INDUSTRIES / GVA Architect: VIKTOR KRAMERENKO / MICHAEL VINOGRADOV

There was an international contest in 1989 for the new national library building of Belarus. Architects M.K. Vinogrdov and V.V. Kramarenko and their project “Belarusian Diamond” won the contest but it took them many years later till the project was fulfilled.  This is a 23-storey library designed in a form of a rhombicuboctahedron (diamond) and “symbolizes the enormous value of knowledge that mankind has stored in books”. It is measured up to 72 metres high. It also features a 500 seat conference hall. The building is covered with glass panels. All 24sides light up with eye-catching LED displays. The LED light fixtures are controlled and operated on a standard pc through custom design software. The tourist attraction is the 22^nd and 23^rd floors (public observation decks) as it offers panorama of downtown Minsk and the forests surrounding the city.