The best project was named by the Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas, who defeated 120 competitors.
In the archival center with an area of 85,000 sq. m will store documents from 1790 to 2030, and an increase in the area for state acts is also provided for another 30 years.
It will complement the network of modern institutions of this type already existing in Paris and Fontainebleau.
The starting point for the design was for Fuksas the concept of the "borderline character" of the construction site. This is a typical suburb, whose buildings of various sizes the architect wants to bring to order with his building. The archive should become a kind of "generator of urbanization" for Pierrefitte-sur-Seine.
The complex reflects in its architecture "two worlds" - echoing the "disunity" of the surrounding landscape.
"Light, transparent, floating volumes" include administration premises, conference rooms, and a lobby. The "heavy, squat, lined with shiny aluminum" parts of the building will house the archive itself and the main auditorium. The project will cost about 110 million euros and should be completed by 2005.
