ARCHIVE

Article from issue 2/1999 »Interiors«

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris

documentation p. 237 - 244
Architect Lauriot-Prévost, Gaelle | Perrault, Dominique |

Drafts
Cross-section/Longitudinal section though Suspended soffit construction 1:50
Cross-section/Part elevation of Bookshelves 1:20
Detail of recessed light fitting in Bookshelves 1:5
Metal grille: Inside face/Vertical section 1:50
Metal grille: Vertical and horizontal sectional details 1:10
Part section through redaing room 1:500
Plan of garden storey/Sections 1:2000
Standard chair 1:20
Suspended ceiling in reading room: vertical section 1:20
Table: cross-section 1:5
Table: cross-section/elevation/horizontal section 1:20
Wall lining: vertical section 1:20

Situated in the eastern part of the city, the four 80-metre-high L-shape towers of the library complex form a landmark that is visible from afar. In the future, it is planned, they will represent the nucleus of a new district in an area that has hitherto suffered from urban neglect. A large part of the overall volume is concealed in six basement storeys. This plinth structure extends over a rectangular area, the corners of which are marked by the external angles of the towers. Accommodated in the plinth are the public facilities of the library, including the reception, information centre, reading rooms and ancillary functions. The timber boarded area above the plinth is designed as an open public esplanade, which is reached almost incidentally via timber stairs extending round three sides of the complex. The centre of the development is formed by an area sunk 23 m below ground level and containing a grove of trees, to which the façades of the reading rooms are oriented.