What is centre pompidou

To regain the top spot, the French capital needed an original space that would be instantly recognised around the world. There was another factor. For Georges Pompidou personally, it was critical that all forms of artistic expression should be given prominence in the new centre. He didn't want it to become yet another exclusive preserve for the Parisian art elite. These populist ambitions sparked intense debate, and a standoff ensued between those who were in favour of a celebration of popular culture, and those of a more traditional mindset, the established cultural elite.

Georges Pompidou was passionate about this project, and about his view that the new centre should include music, film, books and even audiovisual research. As he put it, "This place should be both modern and constantly evolve. The library alone will attract thousands of people who, in turn, will inevitably find themselves in contact with other aspects of the arts.

Not least due to the intense cultural debate that preceded it, the opening ceremony attracted international attention, and was attended by political and cultural personalities from around the world. What they saw was a building like no other, with all of the utilities and structure that are usually concealed - piping, brightly coloured tubing, lifts, the now famous stairs - all proudly exposed on the exterior. This was an entirely new architectural language, thought up by the winners of the design competition, Richard Rogers from Britain, who went on to design the landmark Lloyd's building in the City of London, and Renzo Piano of Italy, now best known for The Shard in London and the new Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Their new Parisian arts centre wasn't universally liked. Controversial or not, the public voted with their feet. One particularly unique element is its tonne gerberettes.

Positioned on both sides of the building, these gerberettes connect large trusses supporting the floors to the columns, helping to create the large internal spans. Alongside the exposed structure, Centre Pompidou's facades are covered with colour-coded building services: blue marking its air-conditioning, yellow is for electrics, green denotes water pipes, and red highlights tubular escalators and elevators. These stand out from a minimal curtain wall backdrop made from steel and a mix of glazed and solid metal panels that were designed to create the feeling of a transparent building envelope.

At ground level the Centre Pompidou has a double-height space that contains all the large publicly-accessible areas. Visitors travel from the ground level up a giant diagonal escalator, on the facade facing the square, to external corridors and viewing platforms.

These walkways and escalators are designed to create a dynamic ever-changing facade. So we wanted to practice that as theatre. Since it was complete the Centre Pompidou has had more than million visitors and it is now celebrated as one of Paris' more important cultural landmarks. However, the radical design of the building has not always been as popular, and was initially met with hostility — described by French newspaper Le Monde as "an architectural King Kong". Rogers has even recalled how one passerby struck him with her umbrella when he revealed himself as the designer.

The architects wanted to free up space inside the building by placing all service equipment outside. Now if you face the Pompidou Centre from rue Beaubourg , it will be clear to you. Walls and internal structures were put outside the building, and infrastructure was covered by enormous colourful tubes.

The bright colour codes help distinguishing the various functions of the pipes:. The outside escalator climbs the front of the building like a lighted snake. Enclosed in a transparent Plexiglass tunnel , it gives access to the Modern Art museum, the panoramic terrace and the Georges restaurant.

A visit to the National museum of Modern Art will give a complete overview of modern and contemporary art. The museum displays modern collections from , including 50, works and objects from more than 42, artists. Many Schools represented in the museum include movements such as:.

There is so much to see from paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographies, not forgetting other media such as cinema, architecture, design, and visual and sound archives. Also called Place Georges Pompidou , the vast piazza is a pedestrian-only square. It slopes gently down to the main entrance to the cultural centre.

Large crowds of visitors and passers-by gather to watch the street performers: mimes and jugglers. Did you like what you read? If so, please do share this article on Facebook, twitter or Pinterest! He grew up in France and Germany and has also lived in Australia and England. Leave A Reply Cancel Reply. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

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