The National Technical Library – a new dominant feature of Prague
photo: (Národní technická knihovna)
A temple for scientists and technicians, this unusually designed library is becoming a site for meetings of cultural enthusiasts and one of Prague’s many tourist attractions. The new National Technical Library (NTK) in Prague 6, which you can find at X3 Technická 6 X3 (map), is all this rolled into one.
It was opened to the public on the magical date of 09/09/09. Its collection is the most extensive collection of Czech and foreign documents in the field of technology and applied natural and social sciences related to technology in the Czech Republic. It contains over 1.2 million volumes and is made up of books, magazines, scientific works, standards, information about companies and newspapers, all in both printed and electronic form.
The NTK website states “Moving into the new building took a total of 74 days. 55.5 tons of books and equipment were transported by 240 moving trucks. Over 20 kilometres of books were moved.”
The whole library building appears to be an enormous three-dimensional technical plan. It is covered in dimensions inside and out. For instance on the stairs you can find times for how long it takes to walk up the steps and how many calories are consumed during this activity.The library has more than 1,300 places for study, 18 group study rooms, 29 individual study rooms, 562 rest places and a non-stop study room. On every floor there is a room containing food and beverage vending machines, internet and electricity sockets at every table and complete Wi-Fi coverage.
The library is truly unique, which is also confirmed by the number of
Czech Grand Design competition awards received by artists taking part in its construction.