The National Library of Kazakhstan seeks to become a new national symbol that transforms spaces from a horizontal organization, where functions are placed next to each other, to a vertical orientation, where they are stacked on top of each other. A strategic organizational system combines vertical hierarchy, horizontal connectivity, and diagonal view lines. The massing is a central circle, which houses the book stacks, with a series of public programs arranged along a continuous spiraling path that wraps around the circle.

The facade manifests as a twisted tube that wraps around the interior volumes, yet remains detached from them. By wrapping the transforming composition of spaces with this continuous skin, the facade changes from wall to roof and back again.

Where reading spaces face the outer facade skin, extensions branch out and are connected at the edge. This once-empty space becomes thickened with activity as people walk along the facade.