In 1854, Emperor Napoleon III appointed the architect Henri Labrouste
(1801-1875) with constructing a building for the Imperial Library.
Labrouste emphasized an obsession with light useing metals, and with architectural ornamentation inspired by antiquity. It is truly a work of art, combining ancient, Byzantine, and Baroque influences with modern materials.
Ten-meter-high cast-iron columns support iron arches, and the dome is pierced by an auculi, allowing light to pour into the space. The 1155-square-meter building can accommodate 342 seated and 70 standing readers, providing an ideal environment for research and study.
ラブルーストはパリに生まれました。ボザールで建築を学び、優秀な学生として23歳のときローマ大賞を獲得します。そして5年間をローマで過ごすことになりました。
Labrouste was born in Paris. He studied architecture at Beaux Arts and won the Grand Prix de Rome at the age of 23 as an outstanding student. He spent five years in Rome.
彼は古代ローマの建築遺跡からすぐれた構造上の技術を学びました。水道橋や寺院を調査して、その建築物がもつ構造的な特徴や古代ローマの建設技術を知ったのです。
He learned the best structural techniques from the architectural monuments of ancient Rome. Studying aqueducts and temples, he learned about the structural characteristics of the buildings and the construction techniques of ancient Rome.
