Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Paris, France

Dominique Perrault

1989 – 1995


The heart of the national library is an impenetrable forest


Fig.1 From the tenth century onward, Fontainebleau was a royal forest, hailed as a hunting ground because of its enormous area, the abundance of wildlife, and especially its proximity to Paris. (Image: fontainebleau-tourisme.com)
Fig.2 The forest is so iconic that architect Dominique Perrault had the idea in 1989 to move a piece of Fontainebleau one to one to the inner garden of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. (Image: Sebastiaan Kaal)
Fig.3 From a forest near Bord in the Eure region, 120 forty-year-old pine trees were collected and planted in the library garden. The mini forest is supplemented with oak, hornbeam and birch. The floor is planted with fern, hyacinth, wood anemone and lily. (Image: Sebastiaan Kaal)
Fig.4 Every effort was made by Perrault to make visitors believe that the building was built around the forest, similar to the idea that Central Park is a chunk of nature around which the skyscrapers of Manhattan are placed. (Image: Sebastiaan Kaal)

The forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris, is still a popular destination for Parisians. From the tenth century, Fontainebleau was a royal forest, hailed as a hunting ground because of the enormous area, the abundance of wildlife and especially the proximity of Paris. The forest is closely linked to the history of Paris. The large sandstone rocks were used to make cobblestones for the Parisian streets, the extremely pure sand was used to make glass. The enormous oaks of Fontainebleau were processed in barrels in which the most unique wines aged.


The forest is so iconic that architect Dominique Perrault had the bright idea in 1989 to move a piece of Fontainebleau one-to-one to the inner garden of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Perrault had won the competition for the design of the library building earlier that year. The design consists of a rectangular base with a publicly accessible deck on top. At the four corners stand L-shaped towers, as if they were open books. Perrault had devised a garden in the middle, cut into the bottom layer. The garden should add intimacy, a space for walking, a counterbalance to the clean and vertical lines of the building, a quiet place in the bustle of the city.


Perrault looked at the nearby Fontainebleau for inspiration. Transplanting a piece of forest was not possible, partly because Perrault had high demands: the bark of the trees had to match the colours of the interior, the tree crowns had to let light through, the trunks had to be high enough to be seen from the deck to become. The architect was not satisfied with the imperfections of "real" nature. He therefore designed a perfected version. The choice of tree fell on the Scots pine and from a forest near Bord in the Eure region, 120 copies of forty years old were collected and planted in the library garden. The mini forest is supplemented with oak, hornbeam and birch. The floor is planted with fern, hyacinth, wood anemone and lily. Everything was done by Perrault to make visitors believe that the building was built around the forest, similar to the idea that Central Park is a chunk of nature around which the skyscrapers of Manhattan are placed.


In the original design, the garden was publicly accessible and Perrault wanted to construct aerial bridges through the treetops. Rumor has it that by the decree of then President Mitterand these ideas were abandoned. There are no air bridges and the garden is closed to the public - it is now a sylvarium, a forest behind glass. Although the garden can be visited a few times a year under supervision, the forest is primarily something to look at, to gaze on while thinking - similar to Japanese zen gardens, a means for contemplation.