Charles Nègre library, Grasse

Designed by Ivry Serres and Beaudouin Architectes, this cultural centre on the French Riviera is one of 40 buildings shortlisted for the EU 2024 Mies van der Rohe Award. Located in a seismic zone, the design is based on a structure of in-situ concrete vaults which lend lateral stability to the cantilevering form.

The glazed envelope is wrapped in fluted while columns, made of nearly 14,000 seperate precast-concrete elements.

Photo Fernando Guerra