National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan / XOPA

The National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan is located in a building erected in 1987 for the Kazan branch of the Lenin Central Museum. The building, clad in Armenian tufa stone thus resembling the image of a waving Soviet flag, is one of the centerpieces of Kazan and a significant example of late Soviet architecture. After the collapse of the USSR, the National Cultural Center "Kazan" was located there, which also housed a Kazan City Museum until recently. The most notable achievement of the project, whilst being respectful to the material and spatial features of the original design, was to transform a somber and outdated structure into a vibrant and lively public space.