Centre Pompidou facts for kids

"Beaubourg" redirects here. For other uses, see Beaubourg (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids Centre Georges Pompidou


General information
Type	Cultural center
Architectural style	Postmodern / high-tech
Location	Paris, France
Completed	1971–1977
Technical details
Structural system	Steel superstructure with reinforced concrete floors
Design and construction
Architect	Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini
Structural engineer	Arup
Services engineer	Arup

The Centre Pompidou is a famous building in Paris, France. People also call it the Pompidou Centre. It is a huge place for art and culture. You can find it in the Beaubourg area of Paris.

This special building was designed by architects Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, and Gianfranco Franchini. They used a style called high-tech architecture.

The Centre Pompidou has many cool things inside. It has a giant public library called the Bibliothèque publique d'information. It also has the Musée National d'Art Moderne, which is the biggest modern art museum in Europe. Plus, there's IRCAM, a center for music and sound research.

Locals often call it Beaubourg because of its location. The building is named after Georges Pompidou. He was the President of France from 1969 to 1974. He asked for the building to be made. It officially opened on January 31, 1977.

Many people visit the Centre Pompidou. In 2022, about 3.1 million visitors came. Since it opened in 1977, over 180 million people have visited.

A large sculpture called Horizontal by Alexander Calder stands outside. It is a tall, moving artwork. It was placed there in 2012.

History of the Centre Pompidou

The idea for the Centre Pompidou started in the 1960s. Leaders wanted a place where different types of art and books could be together. André Malraux, France's first Minister of Cultural Affairs, helped with this idea. He wanted art and culture to be available to more people.

City planners decided to move the old food markets of Les Halles. They thought some cultural places could be built there. Paris also needed a big, free public library. There wasn't one at that time.

In 1968, President Charles de Gaulle announced a new spot for the library. It was called Plateau Beaubourg. A year later, President Georges Pompidou decided to build both the new library and a modern art center there. The IRCAM music research center also joined the project.

Many architects entered a competition to design the building. The design by Rogers and Piano was chosen from 681 entries. Famous architects like Oscar Niemeyer were on the judging team. This was the first time international architects could compete in France. Their design was seen as a bold new idea for architecture.

Architecture and Design

The Centre Pompidou's unique design

The Centre Pompidou was one of the first buildings designed "inside-out." This means its pipes, wires, and stairs are on the outside. You can see them clearly.

All the parts on the outside are color-coded. Green pipes are for water. Blue ducts are for air conditioning. Yellow covers electrical wires. Red parts are for stairs, escalators, and safety items like fire extinguishers.

Architect Renzo Piano said the building was meant to be like "a town." He imagined a place where you could find everything. You could have lunch, see great art, visit the library, or enjoy music.

When it was first built, some people didn't like the design. One newspaper called it "Paris has its own monster." But later, people started to love it. The New York Times said the design "turned the architecture world upside down." The Pritzker Prize jury said the Centre Pompidou "revolutionised museums." It changed them from fancy monuments into popular places for people to share culture.

Building Details

The Centre Pompidou was built by GTM and finished in 1977. It cost a lot of money to build. It was closed for renovations from 1996 to 2000. It reopened on January 1, 2000.

More renovations are planned to start in 2023. The center will close completely for about four years for this work.

Building specifications
Land area	2 hectares (5 acres)
Floor area	103,305 m²
Superstructure	7 levels
Height	42 m (Rue Beaubourg side), 45.5 m (Piazza side)
Length	166 m
Width	60 m
Infrastructure	3 levels
Dimensions	Depth: 18 m; Length: 180 m; Width: 110 m
Materials used
Earthworks	300,000 m³
Reinforced concrete	50,000 m³
Metal framework	15,000 tonnes of steel
Façades, glass surfaces	11,000 m²
Opaque surfaces	7,000 m²

Stravinsky Fountain

The Stravinsky Fountain outside the Centre Pompidou

Near the Centre Pompidou is the Stravinsky Fountain. It is also called the Fontaine des automates. This fountain has 16 fun, moving sculptures. They spray water and represent ideas from composer Igor Stravinsky.

The black mechanical sculptures were made by Jean Tinguely. The colorful ones were made by Niki de Saint-Phalle. The fountain opened in 1983.

Place Georges Pompidou

The large open area in front of the museum is called Place Georges Pompidou. It's a lively spot. You can often see street performers there. These include mimes and jugglers.

In the spring, small carnivals are sometimes set up. They have bands, artists who draw caricatures, and even skateboarding competitions. It's a fun place for people to gather and enjoy.

Visitors and Exhibitions

The Centre Pompidou was built to handle about 8,000 visitors a day. But it became much more popular than expected. In its first 20 years, over 145 million people visited. That's more than five times the number first thought!

As of 2006, over 180 million people had visited the center. Before a big renovation in 1997-2000, many visitors rode the outside escalators just to see the view.

After reopening in 2000, the Centre Pompidou made it easier for visitors to get around. Now, you need to enter the building to use the escalators. Entering the building itself is free.

In 2013, the museum and public library had over 5.2 million visitors. The Musée National d'Art Moderne alone had 3.75 million visitors that year. A special exhibition about the artist "Dalí" in 2013 broke records. About 7,364 people visited it each day.

Pablo Picasso's works displayed in the Centre

Art Exhibitions

The Centre Pompidou holds many important art exhibitions each year. These often focus on one artist. Some famous artists who have had shows there include:

Marcel Duchamp (1977)
Henri Michaux (1978)
Dalí (1979)
Pollock (1982)
Bonnard (1984)
Kandinsky (1984)
Paul Klee (1985)
Andy Warhol (1990)
Max Ernst (1991)
Matisse (1993)
Joseph Beuys (1994)
Francis Bacon (1996)
Fernand Léger (1997)
David Hockney (1998)
Picasso (2000)
Jean Dubuffet (2001)
Max Beckmann (2002)
Miró (2004)
Robert Rauschenberg (2006)
Yves Klein (2006)
Hergé (2006)
Richard Rogers (2007)
Alberto Giacometti (2007)
Louise Bourgeois (2008)
Alexander Calder (2009)
Pierre Soulages (2009)
Lucian Freud (2010)
Edvard Munch (2011)
Gerhard Richter (2012)
Salvador Dalí (2013)
Roy Lichtenstein (2013)
Jeff Koons (2014)
Mona Hatoum (2015)
André Derain (2017)
Vasarely (2019)
Christo and Jeanne-Claude (2020)
Alice Neel (2020)
Matisse (2020)

Expanding the Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou has started opening branches in other places. This helps share art with more people.

Branches in France

The Centre Pompidou-Metz

In 2010, the Centre Pompidou opened a branch in Metz, a city east of Paris. This new museum is called the Centre Pompidou-Metz. It helps show modern art outside of Paris.

The building in Metz has a unique, curving roof. It also has a tall spire, 77 meters high. This number is a nod to 1977, the year the main Paris Centre Pompidou was built. The Metz museum shows special, temporary exhibitions from the main museum's collection. It has become a very popular cultural spot outside Paris.

There were plans for a mobile museum that would travel around France. But this project was stopped because it was too expensive. There are also plans for a temporary branch in Maubeuge, near the Belgian border. Another possible branch is in Libourne, in southwestern France.

By 2025, the Centre Pompidou plans to open a large space in Massy for storing and showing art.

International Branches

The Centre Pompidou is also opening branches in other countries.

Europe

Branch in Málaga (Spain)

Málaga In 2015, a temporary Centre Pompidou opened in Málaga, Spain. It is housed in a glass building called The Cube. About 70 artworks from the Pompidou's collection are shown there. The city of Málaga pays the Centre Pompidou to use its name and art.

KANAL - Centre Pompidou in Brussels

Brussels In 2018, the Centre Pompidou announced plans for a branch in Brussels, Belgium. It's called KANAL - Centre Pompidou. It is in a former car garage. This new center will have a modern art museum, an architecture center, and public spaces for culture and learning.

Asia

The Centre Pompidou has also looked at opening museums in Asia. In 2019, the Centre Pompidou x West Bund Museum opened in Shanghai, China. It is part of the West Bund Art Museum. It shows art from the Pompidou's collection.

North America

In 2014, the Pompidou president said that Mexico would be the next place for a pop-up Centre Pompidou. A satellite museum, Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, is planned to open in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2024. This will be the first Pompidou branch in North America.

South America

There have been talks about a temporary Pompidou museum in Brazil. This could be the third country to host a temporary branch, after Spain and Mexico.

How the Centre Pompidou is Run

Leaders of the Centre

The Centre Pompidou has had several presidents who lead the institution.

since 2021 : Laurent Le Bon
2015 – 2021 : Serge Lasvignes
2007 – 2015: Alain Seban
2002 – 2007: Bruno Racine
1996 – 2002: Jean-Jacques Aillagon
1993 – 1996: François Barré
1991 – 1993: Dominique Bozo
1989 – 1991: Hélène Ahrweiler
1983 – 1989: Jean Maheu
1980 – 1983: Jean-Claude Groshens
1977 – 1980: Jean Millier
1976 – 1977: Robert Bordaz
1969 – 1977: Georges Pompidou

Funding the Centre

Part of the exhibitions in the Centre

The Centre Pompidou is a national museum. This means the French government owns it. The Ministry of Culture provides most of its money. They also choose its directors.

The museum also earns money from traveling exhibitions. In the United States, there is a group called the Georges Pompidou Art and Culture Foundation. This group helps the museum get donations of art and money. For example, in 2013, some art collectors donated about 300 artworks to the Centre Pompidou. This was one of the biggest gifts in its history.

Centre Pompidou in Movies and TV

The Centre Pompidou has appeared in several films and TV shows:

Roberto Rossellini made a documentary about the Centre in 1977. It was called Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture.
In the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker, a room on the fifth floor was used as an office.
The band Electric Light Orchestra filmed their "Calling America" music video in front of the center in 1986.
It appeared in the French film L'Étudiante (1988).
The album cover for JJ Burnel's Euroman Cometh (1979) shows him in front of the center.