This project was made on the basis of an existing building - cinema "Rila", built in 1958 in the town of Samokov. Currently the building is not functioning as a cinema, only parts of it are used for shops and offices. The aim of the project is to renovate the existing building and to design a new one in order to enrich the functions of the proposed cultural center. The main concept is the project to have as less interference as possible in the facades of the existing building and a new part to be constructed, highlighting the historical importance of the old and at the same time being a unique, moder centre with a different function and shape.
Samokov was a center of handicraft and art with notable figures like Zahari Zograf. The town's name is a compound word of "samo" and "kov", respectively meaning 'self' and the root of the verb 'forge', 'hammer' and comes from the samokov, a mechanical forge powered by water, since the town of Samokov was a major iron producing centre during the Middle Ages. From here comes the idea for the shape of the new part of the building.
