"Big urban toy" as Renzo Piano said about their project with Richard Rogers,
along with Peter Rice, Mike Davis, Gianfranco Franchini and Su Rogers:
Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou.
President Georges Pompidou had the idea of a space dedicated to the culture of the 20th and 21st centuries, linking all its aspects.
Here it is - multicultural institution in the hearth of Paris.
Centre Pompidou, opened in 1977, is the first major example of an "inside-out" building with its structural system exposed on the exterior of the building.
There's a method in this color madness:
blue is reserved for air flows (air-conditioning), yellow for electricity, green for water circuits, red for pedestrian flow (escalators and lifts).
The Centre has six floors of large, column-free spaces. Thanks to place all the building services, corridors, elevators and structural members on its exterior, it is easy to rearrange.
There are marvelous views of Paris from inside and outside of the Beaubourg - as it is locally called (because of its location in 7th arrondissement' Beaubourg plateau).
Here is Montmartre seen from the Centre Pompidou, and the Beaubourg seen from Montmartre:
Let's not forget the content. Centre Pompidou is the largest museum for modern and contemporary art in Europe.
It also houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information (Public Information Library), IRCAM (French: Ircam, Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique, English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) and Cinéma du Musée.
In addition to permanent exhibition - Musée National d'Art Moderne, the Centre offers temporary exhibitions.
This summer:
The Rest is Shadow
Pedro Costa, Rui Chafes, Paulo Nozolino
8 June - 22 August
The Great Atlas of Disorientation
Tatiana Trouvé
8 June - 22 August
Germany / 1920s / New Objectivity / August Sander
11 May - 5 September