The group of buildings named “the silos” in Versailles is the result of successive operations of construction made to host the annexes of the archiving depot of Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The first two buildings (A and B) were conceived by chief architect of BNF Michel Roux-Spitz and respectively constructed between 1932 and 1934 and between 1952 and 1953. They display an outstanding architectural envelope, made of the imbrication of reinforced concrete and glass paving stone. A third building (C), conceived by the successor of Roux-Spitz, André Chatelin, was erected around 1968. It stands out from the two previous buildings due to the simpler treatment of the façades.
The rehabilitation of this group of buildings is designed to accommodate new uses to create an urban campus, i.e. office space linked to higher education, while preserving the architectural qualities of the site, and reconnecting the three building to their surroundings.
By clearing the ground in between buildings A and C, we make the topography of the site — formerly dissimulated behind the three blind gable walls — visible again and reveal the regular arrangement of the openings on the façade.
To accommodate new functions, we propose to thicken and adjust the openings of building C, in line with the existing grid, and to provide the future users with the required qualities for their comfort at work. The first building (A) is preserved and restored. In relation to its former use, the initial ceiling height was 2.2m, thus granting easy access to the archived material: we propose partial floor cuts so as to ensure the well-being of the next users.