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RUSSIA Netherlands-based Erick van Egeraat Architects has won the international competition to design a new National Library in Kazan, the capital of Russia's semi-autonomous Republic of Tatarstan's. The building will cover 81000 m² and will feature an 18 m high entrance hall that will act as a meeting point as well as the entrance to the city's library. Embedded into a hill, the library will continue the shape of the landscape and offer a park on top of the building. By linking the existing Hermitage Park, the new library park and the National Library to the adjacent Tukay Square, it is hoped the area will be transformed into a “vibrant hub of Kazan city life”.