Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2017 #112: Riding on a Life Line

THE HOME | HOUSE OF CARDS
POMPIDOU CENTRE METZ,
FRANCE (2010)
The legendary Paris gallery
regional outpost featured an
undulating Teflon roof with an
intricate hexagonal timber grid
shell, inspired by the bamboo
weaving of a Chinese hat
that Ban had bought in Paris.
Three huge concrete tubes
crisscross above and through
this vast space, with windows
at either end. These are the
three most prominent galleries
which have been carefully
crafted to offer framed views
of the city’s monuments,
including Kröger’s fairytale
station. One reaches the
galleries by stairs or lift in the
central 77-metre tall spire.
This spire makes reference
to the year — 1977 — that the
original Centre Pompidou,
by Renzo Piano and Richard
Rogers, opened in Beaubourg.
This tent-like superstructure
creates a naturally temperate
environment, which ensures
that works of art are conserved
in the best possible conditions.
Since it opened, the building
has attracted 2.2 million
visitors, more than twice the
normal number. In a report
commissioned by the city, the
building had almost paid for
itself in its first year.
TM | MARCH/APRIL <strong>2017</strong>
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