Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France
News: work has started on the Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale (BMVR) - an X-shaped public library designed by OMA for the old port area of Caen, northern France (+ slideshow).
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_5.jpg)
When completed in 2016 the library will house 150,000 books, with each of the four arms of the building dedicated to a different subject matter.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_6.jpg)
Arts books will be housed in the north-eastern arm, science and technology in the north west, humanities in the south east and literature in the south west.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_3.jpg)
“This library is a symbol of the lateral thinking of the twenty-first century," said Clement Blanchet, OMA associate-in-charge. "Its form is based on an almost primitive action: two lines crossing, generating a centrality, which groups four polarities."
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_4.jpg)
He added: "It is an agora of ideas, a place that might reinforce the role of books in an increasingly digitised world.”
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_9.jpg)
The 13,000-square-metre building will feature a ground floor lobby that will serve as a public plaza, connecting the city's waterfront and park.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_8.jpg)
The library is part of a wider project to revitalise Caen's old industrial waterfront. It is sited opposite the future Tribunal de Grande Instance and in the middle of the new urban masterplan zone.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_7.jpg)
The library will link four landmarks in the city: l'Abbaye aux Hommes, l'Abbaye aux Dames, the train station and a new urban development.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_10.jpg)
OMA has won three major competitions in France in the last couple of years: the Parc des Expositions in Toulouse; the École Centrale in Saclay, outside of Paris; and the Begles Villenave masterplan in Bordeaux.
![Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2013/07/dezeen_Work-starts-on-OMA-designed-library-in-Caen-France_12.jpg)
The firm is also on the shortlist for a competition to design a pedestrian bridge in Bordeaux.
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All images are copyright OMA.