Library Buildings around the World

In 2006, in the contest, held by the Kaunas branch of Architects Association of Lithuania, the group of architects headed by Saulius
Juškys, who created the interior for Panevėžys Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library, was awarded for the best realization of the
interior.
In 2006, the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists awarded the company AB „Iglus“ with Gold Medal for the reconstruction of
Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library, and the building was named the Product of the Year.
The library is known for its exceptional architecture – after the reconstruction, the old buildings and the new extensions of the
library complex are combined in such a way as to harmonize different – historic and new – architectural expressions. The architect
Saulius Juškys has been awarded the National Culture and Art Prize of Lithuania for achieving harmony between contemporary
architecture and historical environment.
The library can hold 700 000 items of publications, 200 000 visits are recorded annually. The library is named after Gabrielė
Petkevičaitė-Bitė, a famous Lithuanian author, public figure, teacher of the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th
century.
Architectural idea or principle:
The complex of library buildings include two old buildings, a fragment of the third building and two extensions. After the
reconstruction the internal area has expanded from 1000 m2 to 5000 m2. The architect turned the external wall of the former
building into an interior detail preserving the former historic building and combining it with innovations. Multicoloured wall of the
library interior is the imitation of the backs of books, a combination of the old and the new.
The old buildings are related to the historical past of Panevėžys. In one of them, in the period between 1880 and 1930, there were
located the first printing house in Panevėžys and a bookshop, there was published the first town newspaper. Between 1932 and 1941
there was located Panevėžys state public library. The other building was constructed in 1920 for social purposes. It was a
Neoclassical building with monumental forms and splendid decor.
The old buildings were restored keeping to heritage protection requirements – there were preserved the facade and the size, as well
as the fragments of historic architecture: shapes of windows and staircase, details of decoration, vaulted brick ceiling in the
computer classroom, a fragment of staircase in the basement.
The most impressive interior opens in the inner courtyard of the building. Standing one in front of the other, the Neoclassical
building and the new extensions are connected with a terrace. The entrance to the terrace is from the semicircular staircase of the
old building. The inner courtyard is covered with a pitched glass roof. Straight on the roof of the old building there is located a
reading room – through the glass roof comes the sunlight, other premises can be seen. Awnings protect against sun.
The most dominating and eye-catching is the facade of the Neoclassical building of the beginning of the 20th century. On the right
side abuts the new four-storey building serving as a background and contrasting with the orderly symmetry and solemnity of the
first building. The view from the left side is the most diverse – in one line stand the facade of the former printing house, the new
annex, the narrow facade of the former synagogue and a fragment of the remained brick wall – the height, proportions and colours
of these buildings are different. (http://www.librarybuildings.info/country/liuthania)
R. Paleko Arch Studija, Vilnius – Liuthania
http://www.palekas.lt
Libraries:
Vilnius University Library, Vilnius – Lithuania 2012
Building size 13.800 sq/m
ARCHITECTS: R.Palekas, B.Puzonas, A.Palekienė, P.Išora, M.Šiupšinskas, M.Zemlickaitė, L.Sužiedelytė, A..Barzda, J.Garšvaitė,
V.BavarskisThe library is on the outskirts of Vilnius. A relatively quiet and leafy location of the existing university campus is about
to change significantly. In upcoming years, a new agglomeration of education facilities will emerge here.The library is located near
the pinewood, at the intersection of the main pedestrian path and a new access road. Neighborhood of the forest has inspired a
spatial conception of the library - cozy inside spaces and their linkage with the nature. An intimate amphitheater-plaza is welcoming
a visitor. A glazed entrance hall is a continuation of the plaza space. The same as the outside, it has concrete floor and terracotta
facades. The ground floor, which functions as a central circulation space, also includes a conference hall, cafeteria, periodicalsreading
room with an open-air terrace. As walking further, one is entering reading rooms located on several floors which are
connected by an atrium, focusing the view to the forest. Two glazed facades face the wood and illuminate the trees at night. At the
daytime, the trees are sunlit and become a visual part of the interior. The spaces are diverse and easily transformed. In the interior,
white color dominates and exposes books as well as people. We believe that the library should radiate an emotional charge because it
is a place of non-material creativity and spirituality. Therefore, we have chosen the scenery of expressively and unpredictably
varying silhouettes as the main architectural language.The volumes are clad with white terracotta elements. The facades are
arranged so that all joints and gaps are horizontal and run paralelly around the building despite different angles of leaned surfaces.
Rooms are naturally ventilated via window openings. Solid south-side partitions hide people and books from direct sun and
overheating.Site size 9132 sq/mBuilding size 13.800 sq/m (Paleko)