Bibliothèque Nationale François Mitterand
On 14 July 1988, François Mitterrand announced the construction and the expansion of one of the largest and most modern libraries in the world, intended to cover all fields of knowledge, and designed to be accessible to all, using the most modern data transfer technologies, which could be consulted from a distance, and which would collaborate with other European libraries. In July 1989, the services of the architectural firm of Dominique Perrault were retained. After the move of the major collections from the rue de Richelieu, the National Library of France opened to the public on 20 December 1996. It contains more than ten million volumes. The new complex consists of a large esplanade and four identical L-shaped towers, whose form recalls the shape of an open book. This architecture was controversial; many considered it too costly, and not very suitable to the storage of book collections. Indeed, wooden boards had to be set up at the windows to protect the books from the light.
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