Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

The Centre Pompidou is a cultural building complex whose exposed structure and service systems turn its exterior into part of the experience. Look at the pipes, ducts, cables, and circulation equipment carried visibly across the façade: this is the building’s defining architectural gesture, developed in the high-tech style by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Gianfranco Franchini, and Vincent Alain. Their proposal was selected from 681 competition entries, and the completed building opened in 1977.

Inside this deliberately open cultural machine, you find the Musée National d’Art Moderne, described as Europe’s largest modern-art museum, alongside the Bibliothèque publique d’information, a vast public library. The project was commissioned by Georges Pompidou, the French president from 1969 to 1974, and the institution bears his name. Its official opening took place on 31 January 1977, carried out by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.

The building is currently closed for a major renovation scheduled to continue until 2030. The work includes asbestos removal, technical upgrades, improved accessibility, and greater energy efficiency, while preserving the building’s architectural identity. For now, the striking exterior remains the clearest expression of a project that made structure, machinery, and public culture visible together.