As I write this, the plaza of Piano's and Rogers' Centre Georges Pompidou is bustling with life; tourists running from La Cathedrale de Notre Dame towards Les Halles and the Louvre, college students taking a cigarette break between classes, native parisians making their way through the sea of visitors, all unassuming of the massive structure that changed the urban landscape of historical Paris.
The Centre Pompidou, or the 'Beaubourg' as parisians and frequent visitors to the city tend to call it, revitalized the former parking lot from a place of urban decline to a center of art and information. This transformation was exactly what President Georges Pompidou had in mind to bring Paris to an powerful position in 20th century architecture. His idea for the Centre lay within the belief that a regular man should have access to information, culture, and the arts. He believed that the city needed to be restored to its former cultural glory and position in the art world.
Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano won the competition in 1969 with an incredible structure and plaza that brought back the Paris of the Impressionists; the Paris renovated by Haussman where it was important to see and to be seen. This new interpretation of urban landscape makes the plaza in front the Centre the place to be. From the plaza you can see the inverted skeleton of the Beaubourg, which allows larger open space on the inside. The walk across the plaza leads you parallel to the the tubular staircase, allowing you to view the iconic outer structure.
The Centre Pompidou has certainly catalyzed circulation through this area and probably will continue to in years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment