Library Buildings around the World

Randić Turato Architektonski Biro d.o.o., Rijeka – Croatia
Saša Randić, Idis Turato
http://www.randic-turato.hr
Libraries:
Frankopan Krsto – Elementary School, Krk – Croatia 2005
Project Name: Osnovna Škola Fran Krsto Frankopan, Elementary School Fran Krsto Frankopan
Year designed: 2003, Year built: 2005, Commission type: invited competition, Area: 3900 m2
The city of Krk is a historical town with 3300 inhabitants, so the decision where to locate the school was a very important one: to
move the school in a more accessible site on the periphery, or to keep it in the original position in the center of the medieval town.
The Mayor has involved the city council in the debate, engaging practically the whole town in the process. The debate has resulted
with the decision to keep the school in a more complex location, but one that has the recognizable character. Involvement of the
wider community was present throughout the whole process, from the invited competition procedure to the final realization of the
project, engaging architects in a direct communication with both the client and the local community. The elementary school is
situated on a north-east corner of the medieval town. The scale of the intervention in proportion to the size of the medieval town
made it an urban project: the school with its 20 classrooms and 3900 m2 was clearly the largest volume in the city. The first issue
concerning the positioning of the school was its relation within the urban matrix. The initial idea was to erase the borders between
the public space and school areas, making the school part of the city. Street and square are transformed in the school territory: with
the gym on the other side, the school opens to the street with the main entrance, the library and the restaurant, making the street
part of the school courtyard. The second important element was the relation to the city wall. The construction of the school occurred
simultaneously with the reconstruction of the medieval wall and archaeological excavations. The building floor plan recesses from
the medieval wall and follows the topography of the terrain adapting to the city skyline. Monument preservation department played
the critical role in the realization of the project. It has supported both the choice of location and the design method, and the whole
project was realized in a close cooperation with them. (http://www.e-architect.co.uk)
Studio 3LHD, Zagreb – Croatia
http://www.studio3lhd.hr
Libraries:
Zamet Centre, Zamet – Croatia 2009
Client: Rijeka Sport d.o.o., Project: 2004 – 2008, Construction: 2008 – 2009, Site area: 12289 m2, Gross floor area: 16830 m2,
Volume: 88075 m3, Footprint: 724 m2, Budget: 22.000.000 EUR
The basic characteristic of the design is the integration of a big project task into the urban structure of Zamet, with the objective of
minimizing disruption and to evaluate its given urban conditions - unlevelling the terrain, the pedestrian link in a north-south
direction, the quality plateau in front of the primary school, the park zone, placing the programme in the centre of Zamet at the
intersection of communications. The joint conceptual and design element of the handball hall and the Zamet centre are "ribbons"
stretching in a north-south direction, functioning at the same time as an architectural design element of the objects and as a zoning
element which forms a public square and a link between the north - park-school and the south - the street. One third of the hall's
volume is built into the terrain, and the building with its public and service facilities has been completely integrated into the terrain,
i.e. it creates it with its "ribbons". The public space on the roof is not only a feature of the building in the business part of the centre,
but the roof of the hall is also used as a kind of extension of the park situated to the north of the hall. The hall has been designed for
major international sports competitions, in compliance with state-of-the-art world sports standards. The design of the hall has been
conceived as a very flexible space. The auditorium has been designed as a system with telescopic stands, which open and adapt to the
kind of competition and the number of spectators; at major competitions it is possible to seat 2380 spectators by opening all the
stands. The architecture of public facilities, the shopping centre, the library and the local authority stands out in the topography of
the terrain, connecting the square in front of the hall and in front of the school and tries to integrate into the overall existing context
of western Zamet. (3LHD)
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