The Centre Pompidou, known for it's inside-out form and use of bold colors on it's steel frame structure, was built in 1971 by Italian Ar. Renzo Piano and British Ar. Richard Rodgers. It is Located in the Beabourg District which is at the heart of Paris, near the Seine River.
In 1930, the Beabourg district was claimed unhealthy due to waste water flowing in the narrow streets which increased the epidemics. Hence demolitions of the buildings began and new construction started. But the site where Pompidou stands, was left vacant and forgotten for many years. A nearby food trading company Les Halles used it as their parking space.
The 1960s Prime Minister of France, Georges Pompidou wanted to build a cultural center in the heart of Paris which holds a museum, public library and a combined arts space. Due to the Louvre pyramid, he wanted the building to be modern and futuristic. The city conducted a competition where 600 architects participated and the Jury comprised of Jean Prouve' , Philip Johnson and Oscar Neimar.
The aim of the project was to create multi-functional spaces to encourage interaction of the public with art and culture. For this, the team of Renzo Piano and Richard Rodgers, dedicated half the provided built space into a piazza and the building is designed as a stack of free plateaus whose partition walls can be reorganized whenever necessary. This was in response to bringing in a modern futuristic design.
To achieve a column free construction, the structural elements are all out on the facade including pipes. They wanted to keep the tiny details of construction exposed to achieve complete transparency. The style also known as "Structural Expressionism."
The building is anchored to the ground with 14 pairs of columns, spanning a distance of 48 meters (157.5 ft). The frame structure consists of elements like poles, beams, gerberettes and tie rods, braces. The assembly of the frame is as follows:
In 1930, the Beabourg district was claimed unhealthy due to waste water flowing in the narrow streets which increased the epidemics. Hence demolitions of the buildings began and new construction started. But the site where Pompidou stands, was left vacant and forgotten for many years. A nearby food trading company Les Halles used it as their parking space.
The 1960s Prime Minister of France, Georges Pompidou wanted to build a cultural center in the heart of Paris which holds a museum, public library and a combined arts space. Due to the Louvre pyramid, he wanted the building to be modern and futuristic. The city conducted a competition where 600 architects participated and the Jury comprised of Jean Prouve' , Philip Johnson and Oscar Neimar.
The aim of the project was to create multi-functional spaces to encourage interaction of the public with art and culture. For this, the team of Renzo Piano and Richard Rodgers, dedicated half the provided built space into a piazza and the building is designed as a stack of free plateaus whose partition walls can be reorganized whenever necessary. This was in response to bringing in a modern futuristic design.
To achieve a column free construction, the structural elements are all out on the facade including pipes. They wanted to keep the tiny details of construction exposed to achieve complete transparency. The style also known as "Structural Expressionism."
The building is anchored to the ground with 14 pairs of columns, spanning a distance of 48 meters (157.5 ft). The frame structure consists of elements like poles, beams, gerberettes and tie rods, braces. The assembly of the frame is as follows:
- Place two poles into the ground
- On each pole is a gerberette. This is the node of the structure.
- At the head of the gerberette is a pierced side, by which the piece was fixed to the post. The head supports the beam. Partial weight of the beam is carried by the post and rest by the arm of the gerberette.
Click to watch the assembly of the construction.
The entire module of post, gerberette, beams and tie rods is called Portico. 14 porticoes make 13 bays of a floor. The gerberettes are 8m long, Beams are 45m long, 2.85m high and weigh 75 tons. The assembly of the structure took 9 months.
A transparent glass facade is incorporated to connect the interior and exterior visually, inside the structural facade.
The steel parts are manufactured in Germany and assembled on site. Only the basement walls are made of reinforced concrete.
COLOR CODING:
COLOR CODING:
There are 4 cooling towers installed on the roof for air conditioning. They are white in color and the air hoses connecting all floors are blue. Blue represents the air flow.
The water pipes are for air conditioning, sanitation and fire terminals, all in green color. They run inside the building through the ceiling as well.
The electric cable trays, in yellow, are also in the interiors for smallest of connections like lamps and sockets.
The circulation of the structure is casted outside the building, visible from the piazza running diagonally. Also known as the Caterpillar. The goods lifts on the back facade are in red representing blood circulation in a human body.
The different spaces of the building are:
The water pipes are for air conditioning, sanitation and fire terminals, all in green color. They run inside the building through the ceiling as well.
The electric cable trays, in yellow, are also in the interiors for smallest of connections like lamps and sockets.
The circulation of the structure is casted outside the building, visible from the piazza running diagonally. Also known as the Caterpillar. The goods lifts on the back facade are in red representing blood circulation in a human body.
The different spaces of the building are:
- Forum- almost 3 floors. Connected to piazza at the street level
- -1 level includes exhibition spaces and entrance to theaters, cinemas and conference halls.
- Level 1 has a mezzanine, boutiques, galleries/exhibitions
- Level 3 has Kadinsky Library
- National museum of Modern Art at levels 4 & 5
- At level 6 are galleries
- There is a different public library called "Bibliotheque" whose entrance is at the back of the building, accessible for all.
The piazza of Centre Pompidou is the only open space between a dense neighborhood, open to public, where a lot of street shows are conducted. It is in direct connection with the forum inside the building without a step or porch. This creates a continuity of the ground plane connecting the verticality of the structure. The facade demonstrates an illusion of light and reflection. From every interior corner, one can view the extravagant urban cityscape. From the exterior spaces, due to the transparency, the interiors of the structure is clearly visible.
The metal structure with the different colors, makes it stand out among the Haussman style buildings in the neighborhood. When the architects designed the structure, they wanted it to be modular, high-tech and adaptive. After 20 years of its opening, there have been renovations and expansions of the spaces inside and is still capable of adaptations without changing its design. Till today it is a centre of Modern Art and Architecture.
References:
1. Official Pompidou website:
2. Dezeen magazine 31st January 2017 by Jessica Mairs. :
3. Drawing references:
Renzo Piano Building Workshop website:
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