The world’s oldest mandatory-deposit library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), conserves not only the nation’s printed matter but also fine collections of coins, medals, engravings, maps, manuscripts, and musical scores. Between 1720 and 1998, all of its holdings were kept at a site in the heart of Paris, between the rues Vivienne and de Richelieu, in a jumble of buildings (including Cardinal Mazarin’s palace) that were famously remodeled by Henri Labrouste in 1854–68. With the exponential expansion of its collections in the 20th century, the BNF became desperately short of space, which prompted construction of Dominique Perrault’s giant library building in Paris’s 13th arrondissement (1988–96). While the majority of the printed matter moved there, everything else—around 20 million objects—remained at the Richelieu site, which also became home to the National Insti­tute of Art History. In 2007, a major overhaul and refurbishment was begun by L’Atelier Gaudin Architectes (AGA), in two phases, the first completed in 2016 and the second last September. Accompanying AGA throughout this 15-year adventure was Paris-based lighting designer 8'18", which oversaw illumination for the entire 743,000-square-foot complex.

“For us, the BNF was like a giant case study, with countless projects within the project,” says 8'18" partner Emmanuelle Sébie. After a detailed analysis of the existing systems and fixtures, which included interviewing all those working in the restoration workshops about their individual needs, 8'18" established a catalogue of off-the-shelf, adapted-readymade, and 100-percent custom solutions according to three main criteria: functional lighting (corridors, workspaces, reading desks, etc.), conservancy lighting (bookstacks and museum storage), and architectural-feature lighting.