France

Exterior of a Modernist university campus showing a four-story rectangular building with a facade of alternating bands of windows and green metal panels. The building is topped with a two-story structure covered with a concrete openwork screen. The same screen is repeated in front of a low building to the right of the main structure, and on either side of its porte cochère, on which the words "Faculté de médecine" can be read. The word "Bibliothèque" is stencilled one letter at a time on the top windows. Students are show exiting the building on a paved plaza in front.

Bibliothèque de santé, Université de Strasbourg

The campus of the Strasbourg faculty of medicine signalled the postwar renaissance of a storied institution.
A spacious former industrial building interior with high arched ceilings, glass walls, and open walkways. A central staircase leads to upper levels, with workspaces and offices visible on both sides. The area is well-lit and empty.

Bibliothèque UHA La Fonderie, Mulhouse

From heavy industry to a foundry of ideas, this symbol of the "French Manchester" is now a bustling university campus.
A contemporary, multilevel library with curved balconies and tall white columns. Filled bookshelves and colourful seats contrast against the grey and white surroundings. Natural light comes from large windows at the back.

Le Studium, Strasbourg

This undulating shape marks the entrance to a landmark postwar campus.
Exterior of a Provençal house fronted by a formal garden.

Médiathèque d’Arles

The hospital where Vincent Van Gogh was treated in Arles is now a cultural centre with a library occupying a surprising space.
Exterior of a contemporary library. It has a wavy concrete facade with clusters of small irregular windows on a glass pedestal.

Médiathèque La Passerelle, Vitrolles

This library near Marseilles is the face of urban renewal for a neighbourhood once blighted by rapid growth and destructive politics.
Exterior of a traditional French bastide house in a lush green park, with trees in the foreground.

Bibliothèque les Deux-Ormes – Aix-en-Provence

Near Cézanne's childhood home west of Aix-en-Provence, this former bastide serves as neighbourhood library since 1993.
Interior of a library in a stone vaulted space with white modern bookshelves on wheels. A fresco showing a bathing scene is on the back wall.

Bibliothèque Méjanes – Halle aux Grains, Aix-en-Provence

From granary to post office to public library, the stone vaults of the Halle aux Grains in Aix-en-Provence still offer a welcome oasis of calm next to the busy market square.
Interior of an industrial space converted into a library with a multistory roof lit by clerestory windows supported on iron beams and poles. A mezzanine crosses the space with stairs on either side. We see bookshelves at the back and a service counter with two people interacting at the front.

Bibliothèque Méjanes – Allumettes, Aix-en-Provence

A former safety match factory has been home to the Aix en Provence public library since 1989. Soon to be renovated, this space is a beautiful example of adaptive reuse of industrial spaces.
Interior view of a patrimonial library with rows of oak bookshelves filled with ancient books on either side and an antique globe in the middle.

Bibliothèque multimédia intercommunale d’Épinal

This public library in Vosges is built around a treasury chest: an unique collection dating back to the first millennium and its 18th century shelves.
Interior of a rare book library with dark wood shelves filled with precious volumes behind protective netting. The photo is taken close to the surface of a glass table on which the shelves are reflected.

Médiathèque Protestante du Stift, Strasbourg

This unique collection survived fire and war to chart the origins of the Reformation in Strasbourg.
Exterior of an old house converted to a library. The original building to the left is a three-story house with green shutters and a wrought iron pergola. The modern wing of the library to the right has a curved wall and window to accommodate a large mature tree growing in front of the house. A person on a bicycle moves through the scene.

Médiathèque Pierre-Bottero, Pélissanne

A careful intervention turned this 17th century patrician house into a lovely library.
Exterior view of a brick chapel converted to a library. It is a tall, narrow neo-gothic building, with a rose window on top of a vaulted door. A sideways sign bearing the word "Médiathèque" is affixed to the facade.

Médiathèque de Cassel

The award-winning conversion of this 19th century boarding school chapel in Flanders is worth a walk up the hill.
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