Project
Multifunctional Children’s Library of Play Practices “BUKVA”
Category
Best Project of Public Space by Student
About the project (provided by the applicant)
“BUKVA” is a contemporary venue that unites books, innovative technologies, and advanced educational methods to foster a culture of reading among children and teenagers. The project considers the needs of target audiences as well as the specific functions and operation scenarios of a modern library.
The interior concept draws inspiration from the lines of the Saint Petersburg Metro and the names of children’s authors associated with these lines through their lives and works. The architectural solutions feature diverse materials, thematic visual elements, functional and multimedia zoning, and automation services. The space includes dedicated areas for reading, self-development, individual and group work, and art exhibitions.
A distinctive element of the project is the playful mezzanine “The Attic of Contemporary Culture,” which reflects the diversity of traditional games of Russia’s peoples and the creativity of modern youth.
The “BUKVA” Library is a place for discovering the world through books, craftsmanship, and tools of the digital age. By making reading visible and exploring play together, we create the future!
Location
12/34 Bolshaya Porokhovskaya Street, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Project design year
2025
Project website
https://shkaflib.ru/lab
Extra visual materials
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11j3R28nwm_yf7Eql_un2luKNzHTn0ZmQ?usp=sharing
Applicants
SPb SBLC “Centralized Library System of the Krasnogvardeysky District”, Library and Art Residence “SHKAF”
The Centralized Library System of the Krasnogvardeysky District is a collection of library brands that reveal new contexts of book culture, integrate technologies into everyday reality, and provide wide opportunities for realizing the intellectual potential of readers, partners, and library professionals.
The key spaces of the network include the Gogol Library, the Library and Art Residence “SHKAF,” and the Library and Cultural Center “NOTA.”
The “SHKAF” Architecture Laboratory is a flagship project for the comprehensive development of new library concepts in the district.
Authors of the project
Students of the Institute of Environmental Design, Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design:
Tatiana Valeryevna Rigina, Ekaterina Igorevna Fedyuk, Valeria Andriyanovna Vasilieva, Anna Leonidovna Potko
Visualization
Tatiana Valeryevna Rigina, Ekaterina Igorevna Fedyuk, Valeria Andriyanovna Vasilieva, Anna Leonidovna Potko
Customer
SPb SBLC “Centralized Library System of the Krasnogvardeysky District”
Other participants
Concept — project team of the Centralized Library System:
M. B. Shvets, Director of the Centralized Library System of the Krasnogvardeysky District
A. S. Guseva, Head of the SHKAF Library
A. R. Goncharova, Head of Library No. 4
A. M. Alekseev, Deputy Director of the Centralized Library System
N. V. Zhivopistseva, Deputy Director of the Centralized Library System
Yu. I. Chernichuk, Head of the Organizational and Methodological Department of the Centralized Library System
Curator — E. Yu. Lobanov, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Design, SPbSUITD
Experts — Yu. N. Vetrova, Director of the Institute of Environmental Design, SPbSUITD; S. A. Shamanova, Assistant, Department of Environmental Design
Partners — Institute of Environmental Design, multimedia studio Mediakuznya
Status of the project
Under construction
