Early 19th Century Architecture in Europe: The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève of Henri Labrouste
The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Henri Labrouste, (Paris, France); 1843-1850; Early 19 th Century Architecture in Europe Among the most extraordinary spatial creations in European architecture, Henri Labrouste’s libraries are one of the few that marked a turning point for the era, and have been touchstones for library design ever since. Labrouste sought to create an immersive environment of study and reflection in the midst of the city. The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève was admired as much for its efficient solutions to the issues of nascent library science—including layout, flow of readers and books, and space and light-, but also for its role of knowledge and information in modern society. The Library The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève is the first self-contained public library fitted out within an ornate structure. Its facades are mainly decorated with a seemingly endless list of names, forming a catalog of writers and leaders in all domains of inte...