The Centre Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, is one of the most famous cultural centers in the world and a fundamental landmark for the artistic and cultural life of Paris. In 2026, it will close its doors until 2030 for an ambitious renovation project, originally scheduled for 2024 but then postponed due to the Olympics.

As we await its reopening, we have retraced its history.

Everything began in the 1970s when French President Georges Pompidou, intent on restoring order after the tumultuous protests of 1968, planned a series of building projects for the city of Paris. A passionate collector of modern art, Pompidou envisioned the creation of a new multifunctional cultural center that would celebrate contemporary culture in all its forms: from visual arts to design, from music to cinema, enriched with libraries, research centers, and performance spaces.

Just a year later, the international architectural competition for the realization of the Centre Pompidou would be remembered as one of the most participated and followed in history, gathering 681 proposals from designers around the world.

The proposal by young architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, together with engineer Peter Rice, stood out as they overturned the concept of the traditional "white cube" museum by highlighting its structural elements.

Renzo Piano in Rowan Moore, "Pompidou Centre: a 70s French radical that’s never gone out of fashion", The Guardian, 2017

The large yellow tubes visible from the outside were to house the electrical cables, the blue ones the ventilation system, the green tubes the water pipes, and the red ones a system of escalators and elevators.

This avant-garde and highly functional design, on one hand, optimized the interior space of the museum, and on the other, promised the city a structure with iconic potential that certainly could not leave anyone indifferent.

From the beginning of construction in 1972, critics and residents began to express concerns about the integrity and preservation of Paris's historic architecture. During President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's tenure, the project underwent significant cuts, leading to revisions of the original design and materials used. Even after its inauguration on January 31, 1977, the Pompidou's characteristic colored tubes, overlooking the sloped square, continued to polarize public opinion. For many, the building became a symbol of modernity and rebirth, earning the nickname "the culture ship," while others gave it whimsical names that still survive today, such as "Madonna of the Tubes" or "Pompidolium."

From a museological perspective, researcher Boris Hamzeian notes that the selected project marked a significant shift. What might have been conceived as Pompidou's "vertical" monument was transformed into a "horizontal" architecture reflecting the museum-laboratory model conceived by Pontus Hultén, the historical director of the Modern Art Museum of Stockholm. This model favors flexible and functional spaces, geared more towards cultural production than mere display. The Centre Pompidou stands out as a transparent museum, designed to be fully accessible and integrated with the surrounding urban fabric. This accessibility transforms the building into a lively and participatory space, visibly inhabited both by internal visitors and the citizens outside.

Excerpt from Richard Rogers, "Life, Architecture and Fair Society", Johan & Levi, Milan 2018. Published in Domus 1027, September 2018

The high-tech design of the structure reflects Le Corbusier's concept of a "machine for living," going beyond aesthetics to incorporate advanced technologies. However, it is this technological integration, which facilitates interactive exhibitions and ensures dynamism in the exhibition space while improving access to information, that now forces the structure to confront inevitable obsolescence. Recently, the Pompidou in Paris announced an extended closure for essential renovations to meet current safety and sustainability requirements.

In its permanent collection, the Centre Pompidou houses some of the most representative and influential works in the history of modern and contemporary art. Among these, we find masterpieces by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian, and Jackson Pollock, as well as works by contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, Annette Messager, Sophie Calle, Tatiana Trouvé, Pierre Huyghe, and Huang Yong Ping.

Among the most memorable exhibitions in the history of Beaubourg are the 1982 retrospective dedicated to Salvador Dalí, which remains one of the most visited in the history of modern art with over 840,000 visitors, the 1995 exhibition on Joseph Beuys that delved into his revolutionary approach to art and society, and the 2010 Lucian Freud exhibition, which attracted significant international interest.

Even today, awaiting temporary closure, the museum's programming continues with internationally significant events including the solo exhibition dedicated to the figure and painting of Suzanne Valadon, running until May 26, 2025, the exhibition dedicated to the work of architect Hans Hollein from March 5 to June 6, 2025, and the upcoming exhibition dedicated to artist Wolfgang Tillmans, scheduled from June 13 to September 22, 2025.

The Pompidou Center embodies the era of its creation, representing political and cultural strategies not just aimed at making modern and contemporary art accessible, but also at leveraging it as a cornerstone for progress and international stature. Following Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim, the Pompidou drastically redefined the concept of a contemporary museum and cultural center. Initially promoted by the French administration to reestablish Paris at the heart of the global art scene—a status that had shifted to New York—it is now a museum that must reimagine itself amidst Paris's current artistic renaissance. This revival is driven by the success of the new Art Basel fair, the reopening of the Grand Palais, the global attention from the Olympics, and ongoing urban renewals.

The competition for its renovation was won by Moreau Kusunoki, in collaboration with Frida Escobedo Studio and AIA Ingénierie. The winning project seeks to streamline and enhance the visitor experience by simplifying exhibition paths while preserving the harmony and modular nature of the existing structure, acknowledged as a quintessential architectural manifesto of the 20th century.

Renzo Piano

The operations will include the removal of asbestos from the facades, the treatment of corrosion in the main structure, the replacement of flooring, and a complete overhaul of the elevators, freight elevators, and escalators, to enhance accessibility for individuals with limited mobility. Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability will also be improved. Additionally, the underground parking will be transformed into an experimental center, the top-floor terrace will be opened to the public, and the Brancusi studio will undergo a complete renovation and will likely house the Kandinsky Library, accessible exclusively to researchers.