A new Central Library designed by Luca Poian Forms is set to become a cultural landmark and environmentally conscious public building in Podgorica, Montenegro. The proposed structure, prominently located along Bulevar Mihaila Lalića at the northern edge of the university campus, aims to serve as both a place of cultural exchange and collective learning while aligning with the city's ongoing urban development.

The library's distinctive design features a cross-shaped floor plan with curved rooflines and softened corners that give the building a unique civic character. Each corner of the structure opens outward toward the city, creating four welcoming entrances that draw visitors inward through sheltered, shaded canopies that function as social thresholds. This configuration positions the library as an inviting gateway between the urban environment and academic spaces.

Architect Luca Poian has incorporated a translucent ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) facade that serves as a key sustainable feature of the design. This lightweight yet resilient material creates a luminous, energy-efficient envelope that blurs the traditional boundary between exterior and interior spaces. The translucent facade allows natural light to flood the interior while maintaining thermal efficiency and weather protection.

Behind the ETFE surface, bioclimatic sun greenhouses wrap around the entire building volume on all sides, serving dual purposes as environmental buffers and informal social zones. These greenhouse spaces are designed to absorb solar heat, regulate interior temperatures naturally, and provide a gentle transition between the bustling outside world and the quieter reading environments within the library. The integration of photovoltaic panels on the roof, combined with passive design strategies, further advances the building's environmental agenda and significantly reduces operational energy consumption.

The interior layout is carefully planned to create a vertical journey from social to contemplative spaces. The main entrance features a triple-height lobby that immediately reveals the building's vertical continuity, anchored by a broad spiral staircase that connects all levels in a single, fluid architectural gesture. The ground floor accommodates public and social programming, including a 150-seat auditorium at the center, a café and bookstore along the west and east wings, and an exhibition gallery facing south. These public amenities remain accessible to visitors even beyond regular library operating hours.

As visitors ascend through the building, the spaces gradually transition from social gathering areas to more contemplative study environments. The first floor houses the Music Archive and multimedia studios, providing specialized spaces for audio-visual materials and digital media. The second floor opens into a double-height reading room illuminated by a linear skylight, where the interplay of natural daylight defines the rhythm of study and reflection throughout the day.

The uppermost level of the library accommodates special collections, archives, and staff administrative spaces, all designed to frame views of the city through diffused, even lighting conditions. This careful attention to lighting ensures optimal conditions for handling rare books and archival materials while providing staff with comfortable working environments.

The building employs a hybrid structural system combining glue-laminated timber (glulam), cross-laminated timber (CLT), and concrete to support adaptable and sustainable interior spaces. This structural approach allows for flexible programming while minimizing the building's environmental footprint through the use of renewable materials.

The Central Library project represents an international design competition entry for the University of Montenegro and the Montenegro Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property. With a total building area of 10,223 square meters, the facility is designed to establish a new precedent for sustainable academic infrastructure in Montenegro. The architectural visualizations for the project were created by Slim Studio, showcasing the building's luminous quality and integration with the urban context of Podgorica.