A treasure house of books
Atelier Bruno Gaudin Updates the National Library of France
© Takuji Shimmura
New entrances, new stairways, refurbished reading rooms, repurposed bookstacks – the old home of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris has lost its labyrinthine character after 15 years of renovation work.
© Takuji Shimmura
An historical masterpiece
The Site Richelieu of the National Library of France, which is located in the heart of Paris, is a conglomeration of buildings that has developed over four centuries. The complex encompasses nearly 70 000 m² between Rue Vivienne and Rue de Richelieu and includes two large reading rooms.
The elder of these was created from 1857 to 1867 according to plans prepared by Henri Labrouste; it is considered a masterpiece of early ironwork architecture. The Salle Ovale, which is more less the same size, features a neo-Renaissance interior that makes it seem older but is actually a creation of the 20th century.
© Takuji Shimmura
A new entrance
With their 15-year update, Bruno Gaudin and his architecture studio have given this conglomerate a new context. A new, public main entrance above the garden on Rue Vivienne now complements the existing access through the forecourt at the opposite corner of the complex. The two entranceways are connected by a new east-west tract that is also linked to the two large reading rooms. On the roof, a significantly smaller glass corridor joins the entrance hall to the adjacent wing.
© Takuji Shimmura
© Takuji Shimmura
Access
Behind the scenes as well, the maze of rooms, cul-de-sac corridors and more than 70 different floor levels has been untangled. Twelve new stairways, mostly lightweight steel constructions, now connect up to 14 storeys respectively. After extensive discussion, a monumental stone stairway that blocked the way to the oval reading room was demolished. In its place, a curved steel staircase with aluminum cladding and no supports now juts 8 m into the hall.
© Marchand Meffre
The Oval Hall is the only reading room that is open to the public without prior notice. Its counterpart, the Salle Labrouste, has been painstakingly restored by Jean-François Lagneau, the French chief architect for historical monuments. The bookstacks to the rear of this room, on the other hand, were not listed for protection. They have been repurposed as a further reading room. Seven other levels that were added in the 20th century – five above the Labrouste bookstacks wing, two below – continue to serve as storage for books.
Architecture: Atelier Bruno Gaudin & Virginie Brégal
Client: Ministerium für Kultur, Ministerium für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
Location: 5 Rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris (FR)
Structural and building services engineering: Egis bâtiments
Fire prevention: Casso & Associés
Monument protection: Jean-François Lagneau, Michel Trubert
Lighting design: 8’18’’, Cabinet Cizel
Landscape architecture: Gilles Clément, Atelier Tout se Transforme
Gallery
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