Centre Georges Pompidou: France

The Centre Georges Pompidou (constructed 1971-1977 and known as the Pompidou Centre in English) is a building in the Beaubourg area of the IVe arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles and the Marais. Designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, it houses the Bibliotheque publique d’information, a vast public library, and the Musee National d’Art Moderne. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg.

Museum

Some of the art movements represented in the Musee National d’Art Moderne are Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. The museum has 50,000 works of art (including painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography), of which 1,500 to 2,000 are on public display.

Design

The building structure is very distinctive: it has been described by critics as “an oil refinery in the centre of the city”. The coloured external piping is the special feature of the building. Air conditioning ducts are blue, water pipes are green and electricity lines are yellow. Escalators are red. White ducts are ventilation shafts for the underground areas. Even the steel beams that make up the Pompidou Centre’s framework are on the outside.

The intention of the architects was to place the various service elements (electricity, water etc.) outside of the building’s framework and therefore turn the building “inside out”. The arrangement also allows an uncluttered internal space for the display of art works, drawing on ideas promulgated by Cedric Price’s Fun Palace project (1964).

Access and surrounding area

The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street performers such as mimes and jugglers.

The nearby Stravinsky Fountain (or Fontaine des automates) near the Centre Pompidou, features works by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle.

Public transport: metro Rambuteau, Les Halles, metro and RER Chatelet - Les Halles.

The museum is on the fourth and fifth floor.

The library is on the first three floors.