Don’t be fooled by the deceptively simple exterior of this library building in Saint Denis, France. Don’t even be fooled by the word library. This is the Saint Denis Archives Building. It was designed by Antonini + Darmon Architectes to function as hard drive– a reference to the most popular form of storage since the shelf. Even though the architects don’t mean to take this metaphor literally, there are moments where it becomes conspicuous. For instance there is a giant turntable on the ground floor that allows bookmobiles and shuttles to be more efficiently packed away inside the building. In plan, it makes a giant circle that briefly makes the plan look like the innards of a computer.
