Bibliothèque Carnegie - Reims, France
N 49° 15.184 E 004° 02.153
31U E 575381 N 5456104
[FR] Ce chef-d'œuvre de l'Art déco comporte une exceptionnelle décoration. [EN] Started in 1921, the Art Deco building was finished in 1927.
Waymark Code: WMD090
Location: Grand-Est, France
Date Posted: 11/01/2011
Views: 25
[FR] C'est l'architecte Max Sainsaulieu qui en a conçu les plans. On peut citer parmi d'autres œuvres le lustre du grand hall d'entrée dessiné par Jacques Simon, maître-verrier rémois, et la grande verrière de la salle de lecture due à Jacques Gruber.
[EN] The construction of the Carnegie Library was entrusted to French architect Max Sainsaulieu (1870–1953). Upon receipt of the order of construction in December 1920, Sainsaulieu undertook a study trip to visit foreign libraries in Switzerland and Belgium. Under the influence of his son Louis, Sainsaulieu reshuffles his first project (initially very classical), opting for the modern look Art Deco style.
The Carnegie library of Reims, remarkable for the quality of materials and luxurious ornamentation, boast a very functional space design, very rare in France at that time. The building is functional. A strict distinction is made between public spaces, storage areas and work spaces for staff. The semi-circular shape of the book store is rather unusual. It allows storage of almost 400 000 books on five levels. In front of this store are the reading room and administrative offices.
Sainsaulieu designed the library as a temple dedicated to knowledge. The visitor enters the building by climbing few stairs, symbolizing his elevation to knowledge. Two vases executed by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres adorn the platform steps.
At the entrance, two pilasters without capitals are surmounted by a classicist pediment decorated with engraved flowering shrubs and marked with the iron letters of the word "Bibliothèque" (English: library). The engraved motto of the library reads in Latin "Educunt fructum folia" (English: flowers lead to fruit). Symbolizing the flowering of mind, this bas-relief was made by French sculptor Edouard Sediey. The facade, decorated with mosaics executed by Biret, is pierced by a large wrought iron gate made by Schwartz-Haumont. The entire porch was presented at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes and won a gold medal.
The lobby is 10 by 10 metres (33 × 33 ft) and is topped with a cupola with four sides that ended in an art deco lantern pendant designed by the master glass maker Jacques Simon in Reims. Under the pendant, in the center of the lobby, a fountain symbolizes, according to Sainsaulieu, the "source of all science and knowledge". The walls are lined with large panels of Algerian onyx, framed by bands of green marble. Twenty marble mosaics made from cartoons by Henri Sauvage are inserted in the panels and representing the intellectual, physical or manual activities.
The reading room, with its oak floors and mahogany-paneled walls, exudes a calm atmosphere contributing to study. The interior of the reading room consists of shelving wall interrupted by a gallery on the first floor. The light comes mainly from a large glass ceiling due to Jacques Gruber, famous master glassmaker of Nancy, representing an open book on the arms of the City of Reims. The three large windows that adorn this room have a geometric design using frosted glass, cut and worked to get an impression of relief.
Style: Art Deco
Structure Type: Other
Architect: Max Sainsaulieu
Date Built: 1927
Supporting references: Not listed
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