Bibliothèque nationale de France

Of all the architecture I had seen in Paris, I was the most impressed with the new Bibliothèque nationale de France. This building possesses an aura of power and authority which was unlike anything I had seen before. My first impression was a view from the street looking up a three story wooden plinth.  Four, twenty-two story buildings stand ominously in the the corners of the property. They loom over anyone who walks onto the wooded decking between the towers. People feel insignificant in this space. They are dwarfed by the buildings and feel no connection to the space because of the sterility and lack of human interaction with the structures. The entire structure is based around the concept of placing the libraries entire collection above the people which are walking around the building. These buildings are a tribute to both knowledge and history.