An extension to a public administrative institution that archives documents for both the Bibliothèque nationale de France and Paris’ universities and research centres provided Antonini Darmon an applied opportunity to perfect the cube. Instead of building a single monolith, the firm chose to break the program into two identical volumes connected by a narrow, glass gallery space. Almost a perfect mirror, the cubes’ facades, which are clad in ribbed panels of stainless steel, reflect the site’s forest surroundings, making the massive volumes almost disappear. Because of the panels’ vertical joints, however, the structures don’t vanish entirely; rather, they blur.

Project:Extension of the CTLES Location: Bussy-Saint-Georges, France Firm: Antonini Darmon and RMDM Architectes, France

Team: Laetitia Antonini and Tom Darmon with RMDM Architectes