GRANDE BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE BESANÇON

The Grande Bibliothèque project, led by Grand Besançon and the University of Franche-Comté, brings together the urban-area library (the current Pierre Bayle media library and the study and conservation library) and the university library for Arts and Humanities. The project notably provides for the conversion of the Saint Bernard wing (a listed historic monument). Following an architecture competition, the Parisian firm Pascale Guédot was selected, in association with the Besançon-based agency Amiot-Lombard.
The new complex allows both libraries to carry out their own missions while offering the various audiences an optimised service. The two spaces, both shared and independent, are showcased within a single architectural ensemble.
On the urban level, past and future combine thanks to the subtle alliance of materials: stone, wood and glass. The Grande Bibliothèque stands out as the marker of a new, innovative, contemporary district, in keeping with the heritage and emblematic setting of the former Saint-Jacques hospital site.