Vue intérieure de la nouvelle salle projetée pour l'agrandissement de la bibliothèque du Roi, perspective intérieure, Etienne-Louis Boullée, 1785-1788
In 1785, Etienne-Louis Boullée designed the main reading room as a barrel-vaulted space framing a shelving system organized into stacked galleries of books rising above continuous wall cases.

One big box to contain the entire memory of the world.

31 December 2025