Ribbed Concrete Vault — BULAC Atrium, Paris

4 October 2017 · Paris

The ribbed concrete ceiling of the Bibliothèque Universitaire des Langues et Civilisations in Paris reads less like a roof and more like a geological event — curved barrel vaults fanning outward from a central oculus that pulls daylight deep into the multi-storey atrium below. White tile cladding lines the stacked gallery floors in tight, receding rhythms, holding the raw exposed concrete overhead in deliberate contrast. Structure is the subject here; the building makes its argument entirely through geometry.