Location: Champs-sur-Marne, France.

Architect: Beckmann-N’Thépé.

The new central library at the University of Marne-la-Vallée in France was designed by the Beckmann-N’Thépé agency to resemble a mound of earth, in harmony with its surroundings. The library is located on the historic site of the High House Farm, which dates back to the 17th century and is surrounded by a moat. The lower part of the building, which serves as the entrance, is simple and light, while the upper part, which houses the reading rooms, is raised earth in dark brown cement, pierced by gilded glass niches and patios that bring in natural light. The interior is calm and white, with discrete planting linking the internal spaces with the external landscape. The library has places for 1200 readers and conforms to the latest environment requirements, having received the Haute Qualité Environnementale certificate. The contemporary architecture coexists and dialogues with the historic architecture, and the library fulfills the obligation to devote 1% of the budget for a public building on a cultural intervention, with a work by the artist Krijn de Koning in the forecourt. The library is part of an ambitious public regeneration project dedicated to research and further education, focused on making university centers more attractive. The nerve center of the university, the library will offer a new quality of life for students.

Photo credit: Olivier Amsellem.