ABSTRACT
In the space of reading, one may safely summon the absent intentions of the author, having the means to locate their presence, at a distance, outside the opaque materiality of the book that is kept safe within the confines of the modern library. The criticisms have centered, as Jack Kessler summarizes, 'upon three of the basic elements of the design scheme, the towers, the garden, and the subterranean readers' quarters'. The glass towers, being the most visible and prominent feature of the BNF's design, were intended to house the majority of the library's book collection and read as 'four open books' framing a 'void'. The unintended opacity of the glass towers has rendered them mere markers to an encampment that seemingly holds and protects nothing. The basic premise of BNF's design, as one prominent reviewer decries, 'directly contradicts the typological care and contextual premises taught by respected architectural ideologues'.
