La Contemporaine Nanterre, French Contemporary International Resource Library Building Design Photos, Architecture
La Contemporaine, Nanterre, Paris
1 September 2021
Architects: Bruno Gaudin Architectes
Location: Nanterre, Paris, France

Photos © Takuji Shimmura
Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine
Bruno Gaudin Architectes just delivered the new Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine (Contemporary International Resource Library), at the entrance to the university campus in Nanterre, west of Paris.

This institution is a resource for research in the humanities and social sciences: a library, a center for archives and a museum.

Located on the southeast edge of the Université de Nanterre, opposite the exit from the RER suburban train station, the library stands on an atypical triangular plot of land of rather modest dimension when compared with the size of the campus and the neighboring landscape of office and apartment towers.
On the east façade, the main part of the program runs alongside the university, coming to an end on the south side with the great window of the exhibition areas. The grand entrance porch stands on the south side, overlooking the mall, on the smaller side of the building.

It serves as the base for the prism that dominates all the building?s volumes. The programs are dense and superimposed on this challenging plot: a reading room on the ground floor, exhibitions and training rooms on the second floor, and...