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Front Facade  The Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve was designed by Henri Labrouste, who was a French architect born in 1801. He believed that we did not need an over ornamented building but instead a building that shows what it is, creating its own essence. He is most famously known for his two libraries, Saint-Genevieve and the reading room in Bibliotheque Nationale.  He was also one of the first architects that saw the importance of using iron frame construction. Steel Arches Which is very present in the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve. The Library is very monumental in dimensions, 85 x 21 meters, filling up an entire French block. He started by combining three main volumes. One to store the ancient books, stacked on top was a volume for the reading room, and last a volume for the stair that was placed in the back to not interfere with the main spaces. One of the most important elements for a library is light. Labrouste was able to accommodate for all the functi...

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...