P.O. Hviezdoslav Regional Library Interior / DOXA + Bistan Architekti

Architects: DOXA, Bistan Architekti
Area: 1,060 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Alex Shoots Buildings
Lead Architects: Matúš Bišťan, Maroš Mitro, Ondrej Jurčo, Tomáš Boroš, Jakub Števanka, Pavel Bakajsa
Architectural Cooperation: Vincent Ung, Martina Hončárová, Ján Hlodák
Engineering: Ivan Tatala – BPT projekt
Graphic Design: Tomáš Eisner
Contractor: Isprim
Client: P.O. Hviezdoslav Regional Library in Prešov
Developer: Prešov Self-Governing Region (Public)
City: Prešov
Country: Slovakia

The renovation of the P. O. Hviezdoslav Regional Library in Prešov by Doxa & Bistan Architekti transforms three historic townhouses into a unified cultural institution that balances preservation with contemporary clarity. Designed between 2022 and 2024, the 1,060-square-meter project reorganizes a complex spatial fabric into an open, daylight-filled interior capable of holding more than 55,000 books. The intervention honors the palatial proportions of the original halls while introducing a new structural logic based on lightness and adaptability. Slender steel shelving, suspended to minimize floor loads, defines a rhythmic framework that interacts with natural light and guides spatial orientation. Across three levels, the design progresses from an active, multifunctional ground floor to quieter, study-oriented upper floors. The result is an architectural narrative of continuity and transformation—one that reflects the library’s evolving civic role within the historic center of Prešov.

P. O. Hviezdoslav regional library interior / doxa & bistan architekti

The restoration and redesign of the P. O. Hviezdoslav Regional Library demanded a careful dialogue between architectural heritage and contemporary function. Situated within three protected townhouses, the building embodies both the irregularities and potential of layered urban history. Doxa and Bistan Architekti approached this context with precision, treating the ensemble not as a static monument but as a living structure capable of renewal.

At the core of the design process was the recognition of the halls’ spatial generosity. These grand rooms, extending from street to courtyard, reveal the building’s palatial qualities and its ability to host light and community simultaneously. Rather than subdividing or concealing this character, the architects preserved the continuity of volume, allowing the architecture itself to express both permanence and openness.

The shelving system became the defining intervention—both a structural device and a visual language. On the ground floor, double-height shelves are suspended from discreet steel beams, transforming functional necessity into a gesture of levity. This approach lightens the load on existing beams while reinforcing the building’s architectural rhythm. Books, suspended within this framework, appear almost weightless, their collective presence forming a textured curtain that mediates light and space.

Throughout the interior, the relationship between light, structure, and circulation shapes the user experience. Large historic windows remain unobstructed, allowing daylight to animate the white surfaces and steel elements. The slender geometry of the shelving emphasizes continuity rather than division, ensuring that even as the library’s capacity expands, its atmosphere remains transparent and inviting.

On the first floor, rows of elongated shelves define a more linear spatial order, introducing a sense of calm progression. This level bridges the civic openness of the ground floor with the contemplative solitude of the upper zones. The top floor, nestled beneath the roof structure, embraces a different character altogether—fragmented clusters of shelving create intimate nooks suited for children and individual study, while the visible technical systems transform utilitarian elements into architectural expression.

Each level expresses a stage in both architectural and intellectual ascent. The ground floor fosters interaction, lectures, and collective engagement, while higher floors retreat into spaces of concentration and reflection. This gradual transition translates the library’s educational mission into spatial form, offering visitors an intuitive sense of orientation and purpose.

Materially, the project balances the permanence of masonry with the precision of steel. The intervention does not conceal the old but rather articulates it through contrast. The original walls, floors, and cast-iron gallery coexist with new, finely detailed insertions, revealing the building’s evolution as part of its identity. The restrained palette of white and metal allows books—the library’s true ornaments—to provide the dominant visual texture.

The architects’ strategy of transparency extends beyond aesthetics to social intent. By maintaining openness and accessibility, the design reinforces the library’s democratic purpose: a space where collective knowledge and individual discovery intersect. The spatial clarity becomes a metaphor for intellectual clarity, translating the ideal of public enlightenment into built form.

In its renewed state, the P. O. Hviezdoslav Regional Library reclaims its position as both an archive of memory and an instrument of progress. The project illustrates how contemporary architecture can reinterpret historical fabric without diminishing its character, creating a dialogue between the past and the present that enriches both.

Through precision, restraint, and a deep respect for light and structure, Doxa and Bistan Architekti have produced more than a renovation; they have redefined what a regional library can represent in the 21st century. The result is a serene yet dynamic interior that celebrates knowledge, architecture, and civic life in equal measure.