Some buildings change you.
There comes a time in your life when you see a building and it completely opens up your mind. To new possibilities, new spaces, new technology. For me, the first time it was Centre Georges Pompidou. In my second semester, someone asked me to look up Pompidou as a reference. I did, and it has never been the same since. I have seen many buildings which are much more superior to Pompidou but I have never been able to take out the image of its vitality and functionality out of my mind.
The Centre Georges Pompidou was the brainchild of President Georges Pompidou, who wanted to create a cultural centre for the city which would be focused on contemporary art and creations. He wanted to bring together, in one place, the different forms of expression, such as art, music, theatre etc. Also at that time Paris was in a dire need of a new public library. Keeping all this in the design program, he announced a competition. A million square foot cultural centre to consist of four major specialist activities: museum of modern art, a reference library, centre for industrial design and a centre for music and acoustic research. Areas for office administration, book shops, restaurants, cinemas, children’s activities and car parking were also to be included. The architectural project, under the rules of competition, had to meet the criteria of interdisciplinary, freedom of movement and flow, and an open approach to exhibition areas.
The prize-winners selected by the jury were Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, assisted by Ove Arup & Partners. Subtle influences of the works of Archigram can be seen in the initial design submitted. Their entry exemplified constructivism and was a high-tech modern cultural centre structured with a system gerberettes and trusses unlike anything seen in the architectural world before. Their concept, depicted in one of their competition drawings as a collage, was portraying the museum itself as movement. The other concept in their design, and perhaps the most obvious, was exposing all the infrastructure of the building. The skeleton itself engulfs the building from its exterior, showing all of the different mechanical and structure systems not only so that they could be understood but also to maximize the interior space without interruptions. The architects designed the building on the lines of an “evolving spatial diagram”.
The site is located in the lively neighbourhood of Beaubourg, and was initially a car park. At the time of the competition the area was in crisis. The neighbouring Les Halles, which had housed Paris’s principal food market for generations, was in the process of demolition, to be replaced by a large commercial development and major public transport interchange.
One of the main reasons why Rogers and Piano won was that they proposed to use only half the site, leaving the other half to be converted into a piazza. This greatly appealed to the French President because he was, after all trying to create a very social, informal and approachable centre for the arts. The design of Centre Pompidou has revolutionised the way we look at museums. Earlier they were thought of a place where only the elite would go, generally perceived as boring, but this building has managed to turn it around. For the first time a museum became a social hub to where people flocked.
The Centre Pompidou houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne, which is Europe’s largest museum for modern art. Also located in the vast open interior is the Bibliothèque publique d’information, a huge public library, and a center for music and acoustic research known as IRCAM.
Walkways, escalators are on the west facade. There is 7500 sqm of space without columns, pipes, stairs or walls (except fire screens).The only enclosed spaces are the toilets. The display spaces are partitioned according to need. The music center needed sound proof walls so it was built underground, under the Stravinsky fountain in the forecourt. In the library, the only walls are the stacks of books. The offices have 2.5m high partitions in order to make up the cubicles. The forecourt is a place of constant activity where the large crowds are animated by mimes, street portraitists, entertainers. It has the first modern fountain in Paris designed by Igor Stravinsky. Several other abstract and whimsical sculptures are also present. The floor of the piazza gently slopes inwards in order to direct footsteps and guide people towards the entrance.
“Because the centre of the composition is not a building, but an empty space.”- Piano
The different systems on the exterior of the building are painted different colours to distinguish their different roles. The structure and largest ventilation components were painted white, stairs and elevator structures were painted a silver grey, ventilation was painted blue, plumbing and fire control piping painted green, the electrical elements are yellow and orange, and the elevator motor rooms and shafts, or the elements that allow for movement throughout the building, are painted red. What is evident from the above is that the architects were not willing to be restrained or tied down. They wanted an exuberant structure, thus justifying the use of strong primary colors instead of lighter, more conventional pastels.
CONSTRUCTION: The metal framework has 14 porticoes with 13 bays, each spanning 48 m and standing 12.8 m apart. On top of the posts, on each level, are molded steel beam hangers, measuring 8 m in length and weighing 10 tonnes. 45 m long girders rest on the beam hangars, which spread stress through the posts and are balanced by tie-beams anchored on cross-bars. Each story is 7 m high floor-to-floor. The glass and steel superstructure envelops the free open spaces.
RELATION WITH SURROUNDINGS: The transparency of the west main facade allows people to see what is going on inside the centre from the piazza, a vast esplanade that the architects conceived of as an area of continuity, linking the city and the centre. On a spiritual level, as Piano said, “architecture is the construction of emotions with space,” whereby buildings should become a focus for social encounters.
PROBLEMS: With some seven million visitors per year, the Centre Pompidou quickly fell victim to the unexpected scale of its success as the structure aged prematurely and had to close in October 1997 for 27 months. During this time 70,000 m² were renovated and 8,000 m² added, mainly to display collections. This was possible by relocating the offices outside the centre. When it reopened on 1 January 2000, the centre was an immediate, overwhelming public success again, testifying to the public’s inseparable attachment to the site and its spirit.
In his remarks at the Press Preview on September 23, 2010, Renzo Piano defined his design of museums as both architecture and art -an art that is sympathetic to works of art. He decried “white boxes” as a solution to museum architecture because white boxes are not sympathetic to viewing works of art. From Piano’s perspective, natural light enhances viewing works of art; therefore, he creates spaces in which natural light can be managed as a corollary to the aesthetic experience. But this had a drawback, which was that the artwork which was exposed to direct sunlight coming through the glass on the west facade suffered due to exposure to elements. So, the space had to be redesigned later by providing artificial lighting.
Stepping into this monstrous architectural curiosity, one senses that this is the smack centre of Parisian life. Performers draw crowds on the large, sloping plaza, while students line up to access the centre’s public library. Inside, regulars are perfectly at home on the open mezzanine-level cafe.
The construction of the glass and metal building in the centrally located Beaubourg neighborhood ran into a lot of opposition from people who disliked the idea of a ‘oil refinery’ in a historic district, but what I think is that it blends with rather classical buildings of the area, adding to it more originality and modernity. It blends in due to the fact that it stands out. It is too different. Renzo Piano on the designing and building the Pompidou Centre in Paris:
“It was of course complicated, but because we were so young, with Richard Rogers… I was 33, Richard he was the big one, he was 36… we were kind of bad boys. Obstinate, stubborn.”
Renzo Piano clarifies that the building can’t be called beautiful, but certainly lively and with a soul of its own.
While I would agree that some Piano’s recent designs do lack the clarity or quality of the Menil Collection or the Nasher Sculpture Centre, they are still highly skilled buildings that are better than the majority of what passes for architecture these days. I’ve always taken the stance that Piano is one of the best architects practicing today because of this variety, because consistencies happen at the level of detail, not form or space or site. This makes for well-built but varied experiences for, in these cases, museum-goers. So it is the act of going to a museum and seeing what’s on display, interacting with the objects contained within, that’s the focus in this project.
“A museum… is a place where one should lose one’s head — and I hope you will lose it.”- Piano
The multiplicity of different functions keeps the building in constant life, an absolute masterpiece. The museum is known more for its crazy exterior than the actual artwork it houses. The use of primary colours, the exoskeleton, all make for a really eye-grabbing (some might say eye-straining) effect, and the building really stands out whenever you’re wandering around the Marais and other surrounding neighbourhoods; nothing else in Paris looks like the Pompidou Centre, and so even when you just see a sliver of it in the distance through two other buildings, you know exactly what it is.
The cultural center in Paris, France turned our world upside down, or, more appropriately, inside out! It manages to achieve what few cultural centers have: thrive as a space where art and culture seem owned by the public, rather than standing aloof and inaccessible.
Falling in love. Yes it’s true, you can’t forget the first building you fall in love with.
While that was my friend going gaga over Renzo Piano and the Pompidou centre, the story doesn’t end there. A museum in the contemporary world and architecture is an iconic building. A building that reflects the aspirations of the city that it is a part of. A building that defines the identity of a place. A museum is a public building, for the public to adore and grow old with. Surely, Pompidou is an ugly building in comparison to the elegance of Eiffel Tower and yet it attracts more visitors! It is ugly, it is monstrous and it is brilliant. It broke all norms and boldly made love to Paris and boy did she respond – a building that has come to be loved by everyone, and a plaza that attracts millions throughout the year. It truly was a public art.
Look at its neighbours ! So boring they are.
The other recognition that Pompidou achieved was that it found a place in architecture timeline. Buildings come and go, rarely making a noise, but Pompidou on the other hand threw a tantrum. It was only the 70s and world had just witnessed the genius of Le Corbusier , but here was a building that like none before. Surrounded by classical buildings, this late modern building is a salute to “functionality” of a building and the way it connects to people is the icing on the cake which changed how the museums were perceived. A defining moment.