New prestigious library in Caen-la-mer, France furnished by BC Intérieur

"It is one of the most beautiful libraries in France", says the French Minister of Culture, Audrey Azoulay

The new library Alexis de Tocqueville situated in Caen-la-Mer, France, designed by the award winning architect Rem Koolhaas from the renowned international architect studio OMA, was officially opened by the French Minister of Culture, Audrey Azoulay on 13^th January 2017. She was almost lost for words upon seeing this magnificent library and stated “that it was one of the most beautiful libraries in France”.

With an area of 12 000 m² over 4 floors, the building is located facing the Saint-Pierre lake in Caen. Open from west to east with generous natural lighting thanks to its fully transparent and unobstructed horizontal opening, it has been designed to resemble an urban forum.

In the form of a cross, the library will house 4 divisions: arts in the east wing, social sciences in the south, literature in the west and sciences and technical sciences in the north. It will also offer new services, in particular an auditorium, exhibition areas, a cafe/restaurant and much more.

The Caen-la-Mer library aims to be innovative by offering new and improved services to meet new user expectations and turn the library into users’ second home.

In cooperation with the architects, BC Intérieur has supplied interior design making it a unique library.

This project is one of several prominent French library projects that we have been involved in.