The BNF National Library in Paris

The old Bibliothèque Nationale near the Louvre palace in Paris was clearly becoming inadequate as the official French national library. In the eighties, French President François Mitterand launched the construction of a huge and modern library, called the BNF (French National Library, Bibliothèque Nationale de France in French).

The library is located on the eastern side of Paris, along the Seine river. It faces thePOBC Bercy sports center in a spectacular confrontation of modern architecture.

The library has 1600 seats in open reading rooms and 2000 seats reserved to scientists and researchers. It boasts 10 million pieces of printed or recorded material.

Right on the picture, the garden of the BNF. - Pictures Alain Goustard -

 

 

 

 

 The French architect Dominique Perrault has designed a dramatic building with a splendid garden surrounded by four towers housing the collections.

The interior design from the reading rooms to the furniture is a unique blend of wood, glass and light. Also have a look at the BNF official site at http://www.bnf.fr.