Case studies

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris

Building: Bibliothèque Nationale de France
City: Paris
Country: France
Architect: Dominique Perrault
Curtainwall: Rinaldi Structal /Harmon CFEM

» The project:

The Bibliothèque Nationale de France (the new national library) was designed to resemble four open books, each facing another. It is one of the most imposing features along the banks of the River Seine. The four corner towers comprise of more than 60,000 of structurally glazed monolithic glass panels.

The thermal performance of the building was essential for book preservation. The glazed facades comprise of two main skins which air is continuously circulated between for the airflow system.

On the glass panels (1.8 x 3.6 metres) structural silicone joints were designed without the use of supporting setting blocks, allowing a perfectly isotropic and uniform dilatation of the glass and aluminium and decreasing the shear movement on the silicone joint by a factor of two.

With its four corner towers comprising of more than 60000 of structurally glazed monolithic glass panels, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is one of the most imposing features along the banks of the River Seine. Designed to resemble four open books, each facing one another, architects of the new national library have created an environment which meets the convivial demands of academia, whilst allowing an inquisitive public to appreciate the cultural aspects of the library. Vast expanses of glass facade generate working areas bathed in natural light and open up a magical view of the city of Paris.

The primary function of the design is the preservation of millions of rare books, which, together, constitute the unique collection of the old national library. Architects designed the towers and base building with structurally glazed facades comprising of two main skins. The thermal performance of the building, essential to book preservation, is maintained by an airflow system whereby pulsed air is continuously circulated between the two glass facades. Inside, the towers are interconnected by a network of circulation services which allow books to remain in optimum conditions whilst studied by readers or researchers.

The use of glass panels, each 1.8 x 3.6 metres, had the potential to cause serious aesthetical problems for the designers. Standard architectural design would have demanded a very thick structural joint, which would have impaired the transparency of the structure, thus minimising the impact of the structural glazing. The problem was solved by designing structural silicone joints, without the use of supporting setting blocks, to allow a perfectly isotropic and uniform dilatation of the glass and aluminium, decreasing the shear movement on the silicone joint by a factor of two. In this case, however, the silicone joint not only had to withstand the dynamic effect generated by wind pressure, but also support the weight of the glass.

» Links:
http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/
BIBLIOTHEQUE_FRANCE.pdf
http://www.bnf.fr
BIBLIOTHEQUE_FRANCE.pdf