University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France

At the heart of the campus is the Science University Library. The original library building had become outdated and no longer met the requirements of a modern university. As part of an extensive restructuring and expansion, a new library was created according to plans by Espagno-Milani and the architects involved in the project. The design takes up the architectural language of the existing campus while giving the library a distinct new identity. The project was completed in 2010.

The defining feature of the new building is its elongated, enclosed volume above a largely transparent ground floor. This makes the solid concrete façade appear to float above the glazed base. On closer inspection, however, the concrete reveals its most distinctive feature: images are engraved into its surface.

Using photo-engraving, motifs from the worlds of science and research were transferred onto the concrete surface. They include Paul Sabatier, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur, as well as the Ariane rocket, representing different fields of science and research at the university. In this way, the façade becomes a visual record of the university’s scientific identity.

The motifs are not applied to the concrete; they emerge from the surface itself. Photo-engraving translates image information into a fine relief. Depending on the incidence of light and the viewer’s position, the images appear with varying degrees of clarity. From a distance, the individual gradations come together to form recognisable images; at closer range, the motifs gradually dissolve into the texture of the concrete. This interplay of light, shadow, image and material gives the façade its distinctive character.

The architecture thus makes the library’s purpose visible on the outside.