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Bookshelves and study tables with computer workstations at the BPI Lumière

Centre Pompidou · BPI · Paris, 2025

BPI Lumière: a temporary home for the Centre Pompidou's library

Lead furniture project architect
Photography: Estelle Lefevre

While the Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030, its Bibliothèque publique d’information (BPI) continues in a temporary home in the Lumière building in Bercy, Paris. Andrés Mariño Maza was lead furniture project architect for the new library.

He led the full furniture programme from design through production and worked directly with the public client and its officials throughout. The furniture was made by woodworking and metal workshops in Spain, shipped by Spanish carriers and installed by French and Romanian teams, with Andrés coordinating every stage. It was a far larger commission than his earlier intervention of about 50 pieces at Beaubourg.

The Lumière building in Bercy, Paris 12th, temporary home of the BPI

Photographs, October 2026

Bookshelves and study tables with computer workstations at the BPI LumièreBlack upholstered lounge benches and a white book display unit beside framed artworks at the BPI LumièreAndrés Mariño Maza in a reading room at the BPI Lumière, with study tables and a window counter along the façadeAndrés Mariño Maza seated on an upholstered lounge bench beside framed artworks at the BPI Lumière

Photography: Estelle Lefevre

Context

The BPI closed at the Centre Pompidou on 2 March 2025 and opened at Lumière on 25 August 2025. The library occupies the second and third floors of the building’s south wing at 40 avenue des Terroirs de France, in Paris’s 12th arrondissement, near the Parc de Bercy: more than 8,000 m² and around 1,500 seats (bpi.fr).

These were office floors, with lower ceilings and more partitions than the open floor plates at Beaubourg. The move combined reuse with new design. Many elements came from Beaubourg, including table tops and almost all the seating (pro.bpi.fr).

  • Client: Bibliothèque publique d’information (BPI), Centre Pompidou
  • Lead furniture project architect: Andrés Mariño Maza, MARINOMAZA
  • Location: Lumière building, 40 avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris
  • Opening: 25 August 2025
  • Scope: the full furniture programme of the new library (more than 8,000 m², around 1,500 seats)
  • Fabrication: woodworking and metal workshops in Spain
  • Shipping: Spanish carriers
  • Installation: French and Romanian teams

Design work

A selection of Andrés’s design drawings and 3D models for the Lumière fit-out, produced between 2023 and 2025.

Information desks

A family of information desks in two- and three-person versions of different lengths, some with storage towers.

3D render of an information desk with two workstations and a storage tower3D render of an information desk next to the computer study area3D model of information desk type 1 with dimensions

Acoustic booths

An acoustic booth clad in timber slats, in a single-person version and a larger one.

3D render of the acoustic booth with slatted wood cladding3D model of the acoustic booth interior with round table and wood counter3D render of the single acoustic booth, front view

The booths as built and in use at the BPI Lumière.

Acoustic booth with timber slat cladding and glass door, installed beside the shelving at the BPI LumièreSingle acoustic booth in use on opening day at the BPI LumièreTwo acoustic booths side by side, in use at the BPI LumièrePair of timber-clad acoustic booths in use at the BPI LumièreInterior of a single acoustic booth with a corner wood desk and upholstered panelsInterior of an acoustic booth with a curved wood shelf and upholstered acoustic panels

Study and work tables

The Lumière study table, with modules for reading and for computers, integrated power and dividers, shown in wood and in white. Alongside it: a reading table for the façade, self-training workstations, a cinema viewing table and a meeting table.

3D render of the Lumière study table in wood with Strand lamps3D render of the Lumière study table in white with Strand lamps3D model of the reading table for the façade3D model of the self-training (autoformation) workstations3D model of the cinema viewing table3D model of the meeting table in wood

Seating, display and storage

Upholstered lounge benches with timber armrests, book display units (meubles de valorisation) and staff lockers.

3D model of the Court lounge benches along the curved wall3D model of the book display units (meubles de valorisation)3D model of the staff lockers and bench

Pragmatic sustainability

The aim was to build in ecological criteria without making the project more complicated or expensive: certified, locally sourced wood, CNC cutting to minimise waste and an assembly system that needs no heavy tools, so everything can be put together on site. The furniture can be taken apart and moved without special machinery, and at the end of the temporary period 90% of the components can be reused.

Installation

Deliveries and installation, coordinated by Andrés, took place in spring and summer 2025, ahead of the opening, starting from the empty office floors.

Empty floor plate before the library fit-outFurniture being loaded onto trucks at the workshopFlat-packed furniture components being palletisedShelving units arriving on pallets at the libraryNewly installed white shelving before the books arriveStudy desks being installed among delivery boxes

The library at Lumière

The furniture is designed to include rather than separate: tables that can be grouped or spread out, varied heights for children and people with reduced mobility, and benches that flow into shared areas. Alongside screen-ready surfaces and quiet zones, the library keeps room for the analogue: textures that invite you to disconnect and spaces where ideas can still meet by chance.

The Lumière building in Bercy, Paris 12th, temporary home of the BPILibrary floor at the BPI Lumière with low shelving and armchairsReading tables and seating at the BPI LumièreColourful lounge seating area at the BPI LumièreStepped seating and stair under a timber ceiling at the BPI LumièreRed and white shelving units at the BPI Lumière
Aisle of white shelving at the BPI LumièreLong study tables along the façade at the BPI LumièreMain circulation route between shelving at the BPI LumièreService desk at the BPI LumièreOpen-plan reading area at the BPI LumièreThe BPI Lumière in use after opening

“Libraries are not what they were 50 years ago, but they are still essential.”
Andrés Mariño Maza, in Arquitectura y Diseño (translated from Spanish)

Display shelving unit with sloped top on opening dayDetail of a white panel with round openings

Before Lumière, Andrés led a smaller intervention of about 50 pieces at the BPI’s original home in the Centre Pompidou. See the Beaubourg project.

Reuse and 3D-printed parts

Andrés worked with Jose Real of The Real Studio to design and 3D print a range of custom parts. These pieces allowed furniture and materials from the former library to be adapted and reused in the new one. Jose’s work can also be followed on Instagram.

Translucent 3D-printed test piece with handwritten notes, laid over a table top.Black 3D-printed USB cable holder fixed over the joint between two table tops.Black 3D-printed cover fitted into a white panel.Round 3D-printed grommets fitted into openings in a white panel.

Drawings

Working drawings from the design and production stages: plans, sections, axonometrics and details of the main pieces.

Level 2 floor plan of the BPI Lumière library showing the furniture layout.Level 2 floor plan with furniture layout.Level 3 floor plan of the BPI Lumière library showing the furniture layout.Level 3 floor plan with furniture layout.Entrance information desk. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Entrance information desk. Axonometric.Entrance information desk. Dimensioned plan. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Entrance information desk. Dimensioned plan.Three-person information desk with accessible counter. Section. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Three-person information desk with accessible counter. Section.Two-person acoustic booth. Plans and elevation. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Two-person acoustic booth. Plans and elevation.Single acoustic booth. Plan and elevation. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Single acoustic booth. Plan and elevation.Acoustic room with a curved slatted enclosure. View. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Acoustic room with a curved slatted enclosure. View.Reading tables around the circular courtyard. Perspective. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Reading tables around the circular courtyard. Perspective.Lounge bench with side table. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Lounge bench with side table. Axonometric.Zigzag table for the cinema area. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Zigzag table for the cinema area. Axonometric.Façade reading table. Cable management detail. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Façade reading table. Cable management detail.Shelving module. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Shelving module. Axonometric.Guardrail. Section. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Guardrail. Section.Atlas table with sloping top. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Atlas table with sloping top. Axonometric.Self-training workstations. Axonometric. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Self-training workstations. Axonometric.Curved display and shelving units with magazines and books. Perspective. Furniture drawing, BPI Lumière.Curved display and shelving units. Perspective.

Press and sources

Frequently asked questions

What was Andrés Mariño Maza’s role at Lumière?

He was lead furniture project architect for the new library. He led the full furniture programme from design and development through to production, coordinated and organised all shipping and installation, and was the liaison with the public client and its officials. Fabrication was carried out by woodworking and metal workshops in Spain, shipping by Spanish carriers and installation by French and Romanian teams, all coordinated by him. It was a far larger commission than his earlier intervention of about 50 pieces at Beaubourg.

Where is the BPI during the Centre Pompidou renovation?

In the Lumière building, 40 avenue des Terroirs de France, Paris 12th, where it opened on 25 August 2025. The Centre Pompidou’s renovation is planned to last until 2030.

Is the furniture the same as at Beaubourg?

Partly. The BPI reused many elements from Beaubourg, including table tops and almost all the seating (pro.bpi.fr). Andrés’s design drawings and 3D models for the Lumière fit-out are shown above.

What happens to the furniture after 2030?

It was designed to be dismantled and moved without special machinery, and to be able to return to the renovated Centre Pompidou. Whether it does is the institution’s decision.