Sofia has been home to the Bulgarian National Library since 1881, with its building and historic contents holding significant national importance. Earlier this year, Hochiki Europe was appointed to protect these relics and preserve this slice of Bulgarian history.
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Sofia has been the home of the Bulgarian National Library since 1881. In that time, the building and its historic contents have become treasures with significant national importance. Earlier this year, leading life safety systems manufacturer, Hochiki Europe, was appointed to protect these relics and preserve this slice of Bulgarian History.
The library was first founded in 1878 by Mikhail Bobotiniv, a teacher and secretary of the City Council in Sofia, as a cultural and educational resource for the city’s residents. In 1944, a bombing raid during WW2 destroyed the library, and it was almost ten years later that it reopened in 1953, under the new name “Vasil Kolarov”. Now, it is known as St. Cyril and Methodius, named after the creators of the ancient Glagothic alphabet.
Sectron Ltd, a security solutions provider based in Sofia, was tasked with replacing the library’s twenty-year-old life safety system which was no longer fit for purpose.
Historic buildings often pose a challenge when it comes to specifying life safety solutions, and for the Bulgarian National Library, this was no exception. Project leaders, Sectron Ltd, recognised that it was essential that the installation of a life safety system could offer enhanced performance and reliability without compromising the aesthetics of the building. It was also necessary that the new system had the functionality to network a range of devices, as multiple solutions were required for this installation.