Pinocchio Children’s Library / 2018

architectural design / competition proposal
with arch. Maria Dimitrova and arch. Stefan Apostolov
PLANIDEA

Pinocchio Children’s Library is a place to experience reading in a magic and playful environment. The library building unfolds vertically before one’s eyes like taken straight out of a fairy tale. The structure’s gently sloping ramps lead through a variety of reading and playing areas, quiet and secluded zones for individual reading experience, playful bookcase structures and little houses up to the building top where an indoor cinema and panoramic café are designed. The fully accessible structure develops like the village of Collodi itself – like a cascade of little houses.
The existing factory building transforms into an exhibition gallery connected to a shop, a café and an administration building. The shop also marks the secondary entrance from the village. Spacious exhibition areas are designed underground leaving the ground level free for an outdoor park and recreation area. This open square is flanked by the buildings of the auditorium, media space and workshop which are also accessible from the underground level. Their scale matches that of the houses in the neighborhood as if the village is transfusing into the project area.
Pinocchio Children’s Library is a place to experience the magic of fairy tales. The library becomes a bridge between the two sides of the river, between the real world and the world of fairy tales.