In this article, we are taking you to the heart of Paris to visit the Centre Pompidou. The Centre Pompidou is undoubtedly one of the world’s most innovative public spaces—and one of the most recognizable, with its colorful exterior heating and cooling systems and “caterpillar” escalator. With nearly 6 million visitors passing through its doors each year, it offers Europe’s premier collection of modern and contemporary art through its permanent works, world-class temporary exhibitions, public reading library, cinemas and theaters, and specially created artistic playgrounds for children and teenagers.

A pioneer in contemporary art—and revolutionary design

When French President Georges Pompidou made the decision in 1969 to create a space that seamlessly and uniquely blended a multi-disciplinary museum, library, and contemporary “center of creation,” he intended to create one that would revolutionize the French cultural scene. The president was “a connoisseur of modern art, familiar with galleries and attentive to the young generation of artists (notably the New Realists) ….” Pompidou “wished to restore France’s place in the concert of cultural nations—proof of its international influence.”

It was this motivation that led to the ultimate creation of the center that would become the home of the Musée National d’Art Moderne (MNAM), the Public Information Library, the Centre de Création Industrielle, as well as cinemas, live performances and IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique). In January 1977, the Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou officially opened its doors in central Paris—and opened the chapter on one of the world’s most innovative public spaces, even if fiercely maligned by critics.

International architecture competition

With the goal of creating an institution that would become a global landmark, President Pompidou launched an international competition in search of forward, creative architectural design. Pompidou’s desire was for “an ultra-modern-looking art and cultural center constructed in the heart of the capital, just a few hundred meters from the gaping hole of the former Halles market.” The competition received hundreds of proposals from around the world. In July 1971, a jury led by the Centre’s first president, Robert Bordaz, selected the design from architect partners Renzo Piano and Gianfranco Franchini of Italy and Richard Rogers of England, who proposed a “highly innovative” building surrounded by smokestacks and colorful metal tubing.

Constructed in separate pieces and assembled on-site, the new Centre’s eight-story design revealed “everything that is traditionally concealed: ducts and ventilation shafts, escalators and metal walkways were all placed on the outside. These pipes and tubes were painted in bright colors: green for water, blue for air conditioning, yellow for electricity, red for elevators, and gray for passageways.” The glass tube-enclosed “caterpillar” escalator ran diagonally up the building’s façade, giving visitors incredible views of the Parisian landscape and surrounding streets. The Centre Pompidou’s Piano-Franchini-Rogers design, while revolutionary and fascinating to behold, was based on practicality. The trio “made the radical choice of placing the functional elements outside the building so that the entire interior space could be used as a museum.”

Critics take aim at ultra-modern aesthetic

Not surprisingly, the architects’ revolutionary, modern design was the subject of much controversy. Some French critics decried it as an “eyesore;” others within the cultural establishment were “shocked by the architecture of tangled tubes.” Yet other critics fiercely attacked its inside-out exterior “as resembling a gasworks or oil refinery.” Parisians even deemed it Notre Dame des Tuyaux, or “Our Lady of the Pipes.” Yet despite vast criticism, the Centre found itself embraced by much of the larger public as emblematic of contemporary Paris—much as the Eiffel Tower ultimately did after being derided during its late 19th-century construction and ridiculed by French writer Guy de Maupassant as a “high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders.”

But the Pompidou also was roundly criticized for requiring an extensive and expensive renovation—and a 27-month closure from 1997 to 1999—just 20 years after first opening its doors. Designed to accommodate about 5,000 daily visitors, the Centre found itself handling five times that number. Some still point to the Centre’s ongoing wear-and-tear—perhaps an indication that the Pompidou has been “a victim of its own success.” Even today, it remains a love-it-or-hate-it phenomenon to its observers.

Dedication to ‘visual culture,’ in Paris and beyond

The Centre Pompidou owns the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe at more than 70,000 works. It’s here that fine art stands in the same space as design, architecture, photography, and new media, in both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions that regularly rotate. With glass walls seamlessly transporting visitors from the outdoor piazza to the Centre’s inside space, the ground-floor Forum and transparent gallery spaces display the Pompidou’s contemporary art installations to breathtaking advantage.

The building’s top floor is dedicated to the museum’s major temporary exhibitions and offers unparalleled display space for blockbuster shows that have included Joan Miró, Nicolas de Staël, and Mondrian/De Stijl. And it’s not only the Pompidou’s interior that features world-class art. The fountains in the adjacent Place Stravinsky—located between the museum and the Church of Saint-Merri—were specially designed and introduced in 1983. They display black metal sculptures from Jean Tinguely and colorful, whimsical sculptures from Niki de Saint Phalle are inspired by the music of Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky. The entire scene is about “symbolizing music via the sounds of flowing water.”

Now that it has expanded its offerings into Centre Pompidou-Metz, a “public establishment for cultural cooperation” and an art center dedicated to modern and contemporary art, the new Pompidou location instantly placed this city in northeast France on the country’s cultural map. Temporary exhibitions, live performances, cinematic works, and artistic lectures keep the Metz location vibrant—and ongoing workshops for children and teenagers offer inspiration to the next generation of potential artists.

Diverse and global collections span the globe

More than “just” an art museum, the Centre Pompidou’s permanent collections include 20th-century modern art, with works including paintings and sculptures, as well as drawings, photography, cinematic works, design, and architecture stretches from 1905 to the 1960s. These movements include abstract art, Cubism, early Surrealism, and world-class collections with works from artists including Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, and Robert Delaunay. Housed on the Pompidou’s fourth and fifth levels, contemporary art is the museum’s other calling card, with some of the 20th and 21st century’s most important figures—from French-born Pierre Soulages to American Andy Warhol—among those in its collection. Also grouped under the “contemporary” umbrella are the Centre’s impressive photography, design, architecture, cinema, and new media works, which are brought together and displayed in themed sections and individual collections.

The Pompidou’s temporary exhibitions—such as those featuring the works of German artist/painter Gerhard Richter, paintings and drawings from Henri Matisse, and 20th-century Italian architecture—are legendary and woo patrons from around the world. One especially unique and note-worthy feature is the Brancusi Studio, housed in a separate building on Place Centre Pompidou. Here, visitors can see the collection of Romanian-born Modernist sculptor Constantin Brancusi, who bequeathed them to the Museum of Art of the City of Paris under the condition that they are displayed in a true-to-life reconstruction of his French studio—which they are.

Promoting the arts to patrons of all ages

Determined to encourage artistic passion—and patronization—among visitors of all ages, the Centre Pompidou created spaces within the museum specifically for children, teenagers, and their families. These spaces are all about “challenging the imagination and creativity of the youngest generation and providing them with a privileged contact with the art they make.”

The Galerie des Enfants provides space for temporary exhibitions—which often are thematically linked to those shown elsewhere at the Pompidou. The Atelier des Enfants offers hands-on, experiential workshops that allow children to engage with art—and to have fun while doing it. And Studio 13/16, which the Centre reports is the first space dedicated to teenagers in a major cultural institution worldwide, invites young people to “participate in the creative process in the domains that interest them,” whether music, graphic arts, fashion, dance, design—or some combination thereof in this open-access space.

Multi-disciplinary spaces enhance museum offerings

Here, the cinematic arts—whether avant-garde or documentaries or other forms—are represented everywhere and “is considered as an art on the same level as painting or photography.” Its two movie theatres feature hundreds of screenings each year, drawing thousands of visitors into the Pompidou’s doors. Its Bibliothèque publique d’information (BPI) makes itself supremely accessible and offering non-circulating books, CDs, print and digital documents, maps and plans, periodicals, and films, as well as hosting a range of cultural events. Visitors can make their own aural art here, as they are invited to compose and play music on the Centre’s electric pianos. Research also reigns here, as the Kandinsky Library is exclusively available to those studying modern and contemporary art—and IRCAM is one of the world’s largest public research centers dedicated to both musical expression and scientific research, also hosting assorted concerts each year.

Invitation to Travel

One of Paris’ most distinctive public places, the Centre Pompidou, also offers some of the most impressive views within the City of Light. Indeed, its panoramic views—which include the iconic Eiffel Tower in one direction, Montmartre’s hilltop Sacré-Coeur in another—compete with the world-class art displayed on its walls. Here, you’ll find Piet Mondrian’s abstract Composition II; Joan Miró’s Surrealist Baigneuse; American artist Jackson Pollock’s Painting; and works from Henri Matisse’s much-acclaimed Jazz Series. Artistic expression reigns throughout, including in Level 6’s Restaurant Georges, where the architecture conforms to the Centre’s unique structure with contoured aluminum sheeting incorporated into the space’s sleek and streamlined design. Visitors who dine or enjoy cocktails—whether with friends or for private, special events—within its space are treated to an elegant and upscale experience.