In 1989, at the age of 36, Dominique Perrault achieved world fame overnight when he won the competition for the Bibliotheque de France. His entry for this last and most prestigious of the Grands Projets in the French capital - four high, L-shaped towers enclosing a vast piazza - gave rise to heated argument. Would the young architect be equal to such a complex and symbolic feat? The Bibliotheque Nationale de France was inaugurated by President Maitterand on the 30th of March 1995. In a record time of just under five and a half years of planning and building, and strictly within the original budget, Perrault completed the largest library in the world. This monograph describes the building in all its aspects - city planning, architecture, library design, and aesthetic impact - and provides documentation through sketches, plans, models, and colour photographs from beginning to completion.