The National Library of France (BNF) launched its architectural competition on Thursday for its future site of newspaper collections in Amiens, which is due to open in 2029. “
The competition was published today and the announcement of the name of the winner will take place within 12 months
,” the BNF said in a statement.
The capital of the former Picardy region was chosen in November 2021 to host this new National Press Conservatory and its center for the conservation of the Library's huge press collections.
These are rich with nearly 300,000 titles from
La Gazette,
a newspaper founded in 1631 by Théophraste Renaudot.
These newspapers and periodicals are now spread over the various sites of the BNF, stored in much less favorable conditions than those provided for in Amiens.
Read alsoThe BnF makes its revolution
"
The future conservation center will respond to the problems of saturation of spaces within the existing buildings of the BnF, with in particular the creation of stores of highly technological collections, essential for the preservation of the most fragile documents
", underlined the BNF.
The institution wants “
a very high architectural quality, which is part of the history and identity of the BNF
”.
The building is planned on the former site of the Hôpital Nord, left free by the University Hospital of Amiens, i.e. a plot of "
6.3 hectares including 30,000 m² of building space
".
The BNF, the State and the local authorities (city, community of agglomeration, department and Region) sign Thursday a partnership agreement for cultural events in Hauts-de-France.
The first will be an exhibition in Amiens around the manuscript of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne, from May 27 to October 1.