Situated on the Rue de Richelieu, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France Museum holds a world-class collection comprising thousands of books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, and objects housed in specially designed Goppion Display Cases. The ambitious project accomplished by Guicciardini & Magni agency provided a vision of the new BnF Museum’s galleries that embraces the full range of the Library's world-class holdings, from ancient to modern.
Around 900 works are on public display across the 1,200m² space, including the famous collections of coins, medals, and antiques held at the site since the 18th century. Such an eclectic range of works required major input from Goppion, comprising more than 100 showcases and other items of gallery furniture.
Exhibition Design
Goppion created some 37 vertical showcases, along with 17 island showcases, and a range of other shapes, sizes, and design features that responded to the challenges of such a wide variety of fragile display material. On top of the new showcases, renovation works were required for historical showcases displaying ancient objects in the Luynes Room, plus some exceptional later works such as Boabdil's sword.
Installation and Logistics
The biggest challenge for Goppion was the logistics of getting the showcase materials inside the building which only had access via a rather small window on the second floor overlooking a one-way street that cannot be closed to traffic.
With conservation and operational needs also factored in, the resulting suite of Groppion showcases contributed to enhancing the diversity of heritage architecture, scale, and content, which together comprise the unique identity of the site.
| Location | Paris, France |
| Year | 2022 |
| Architects | Guicciardini & Magni |
| Products Used | Groppion Vertical and island showcases |
