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Artist’s illustration of the future National Archives building in Belval. Image: VIZE 

After numerous changes and calling the project into question, the National Archives building will finally be able to be constructed by Paul Bretz Architects in Belval, just in front of an administrative tower, in place of an existing parking lot.

The project for the new National Archives has been reduced considerably compared to the 2003 competition which the architectural firm had won. In addition, the client announced that it now wants to develop an energy-positive building and, if possible, use wood as a construction material. Also, these changes imposed a new concept which has now been accepted by a legislative bill, which was approved on 6 March 2020, with an estimated budget of just over €77m.

Currently, the National Archives is in a critical situation, with difficult working conditions, fragmented services and storage depots at five sites, storage conditions that do not meet international standards, insufficient fire and flood protection measures, and the work of compartmentalising archives that is nonexistent or not adequate. Furthermore, the public and researchers cannot be hosted in good conditions, considerably hampering the research work that can be carried out.

The new building designed by Paul Bretz Architects will meet all of the needs expressed and the choice of the Belval site should make it possible to create synergies with the University of Luxembourg and the various research centres located on the site of the Belval’s science complex. In addition, this new establishment will reinforce the government’s efforts to decentralise the public administration and locate public institutions across the country.

The public will use the part of the building facing the former Belval blast furnaces. Illustration: VIZE
The public will use the part of the building facing the former Belval blast furnaces. Illustration: VIZE

The concept of the new building consists of two different entities which rest on a common base. This base is characterised by two monolithic blocks separated by two large openings. On the blast furnace side, this opening corresponds to the public access area, while that facing the railway allows documents to be delivered.

One of the two entities is reserved for the administrative area, with offices, the reading room and document preparation workshops. This wing is a wooden construction with a facade of cast aluminum panels, but the wooden construction remains visible in the interior spaces, which are modular and are all oriented towards the former Belval blast furnaces.

The second entity is dedicated to reserves and archive storage. This explains the fact that this wing is completely windowless and made of concrete for greater thermal inertia. All the facades and the roof are clad in black photovoltaic elements (5,700m2 of photovoltaic panels in total) which provide the energy necessary for the energy-positive building. This installation will be complemented by an earth-to-air heat exchanger, which will preheat or cool the air, and geothermal energy, which will be used to cover the building’s heat needs.

In total, the new National Archives will have a storage capacity of 105 linear kilometres, compared to 60km currently on the five different sites, thus covering the anticipated need for the next 25 to 30 years. Naturally, all the conditions of storage and processing of documents will meet international standards and conditions (temperature regulated at 18°C with relative humidity of 45-55%, compartmentalised storerooms with fire and flood protection, secured and regulated access…).

The public will be able to take advantage of a reception area worthy of the name, with reading rooms (48 places compared to 16 currently), multimedia rooms, individual and group research consulting rooms, educational and exhibition rooms, and multifunctional spaces to organise events and raise public awareness.

The future building will represent an area of 16,400m2. Work should be able to start in the second half of 2021 and are estimated to take approximately 36 months, which suggests, if all goes well, the building will be delivered in 2025.

Technical file

  • Client: Le Fonds Belval
  • Architect: Paul Bretz Architects
  • Consulting engineers: Milestone Consulting Engineers
  • Technical engineering: BLS Energieplan
  • Acoustics: Acustica Lux
  • Certification: e3 Consult
  • Fire safety design: Sorane
  • BIM manager: Drees & Sommer
  • Site: Esch-sur-Alzette / Belval-Ouest
  • Design: 2016
  • Completion: 2021-2024
  • Usable surface area: 16,400m2
  • Volume constructed: 102,600m3

Originally reported by Céline Coubray for Paperjam; translated for Delano