Landmark Europe
Centre Georges Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou is a big art building in Paris, France. Its pipes and moving stairs are on the outside, in blue, red, yellow and green!
The Centre Pompidou in Paris is a center for modern art, books, music and film that opened in 1977. Its architects, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, put the pipes, escalators and lifts on the outside and gave them bright colors. The building closed in September 2025 for big repair works, and it is planned to reopen in 2030.
Planned from 1969 and built from May 1972 to its opening on 31 January 1977, the Centre Pompidou turns a building inside out: its air, water and electricity systems, escalators and lifts sit outside, color-coded, around a white metal frame. It holds what the centre calls Europe's richest collection of modern and contemporary art and is closed for works until a planned reopening in 2030.
Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou is in the middle of Paris, the capital of France.
It is full of art, books, music and films. Its pipes and moving stairs are on the outside!
The Centre Pompidou stands in the heart of Paris, where the Halles and Marais districts meet, on an old part of the city called the Beaubourg plateau. It is a center for art and culture: a museum of modern and contemporary art, a large public library, cinemas, a theater and a center for music research, all in one building.
The building looks like no other in Paris. Its pipes, escalators and lifts are on the outside, painted in bright colors.
The centre describes itself as 'a glass and metal structure bathed in light' in one of the capital's oldest districts, the Beaubourg plateau, at the crossroads of the Halles and Marais. It was designed to bring many arts together in one building: the National Museum of Modern Art, a large public reading library (the Bpi), a center for industrial design and Ircam, a center for musical research and creation.
The centre says it quickly became one of the five most-visited monuments in Paris, with more than three million visits every year.
- Where
- Beaubourg, central Paris, France
- Built
- works began in May 1972; opened 31 January 1977
- Architects
- Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers
- Size
- 166 m long, 60 m wide, 42 m high
A president's idea
Long ago, a president of France named Georges Pompidou wanted a new place for art.
Two young architects, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, designed it. It opened in 1977.
In 1969, Georges Pompidou, then president of France, decided that Paris needed a new kind of place where art, music, film and books could meet and where artists could talk with the public.
Building work began in May 1972, led by two young architects, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Georges Pompidou died in 1974, before it was finished. The centre that carries his name opened on 31 January 1977, and the centre says it was a success from the start.
President Georges Pompidou decided in 1969 to give France a center for art and culture that would house the national modern art museum, a large public library, a center for industrial design and Ircam under one roof. He and his wife Claude, the centre writes, wanted a place where all disciplines could meet and artists could converse with the public.
Work began in May 1972 under Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Georges Pompidou died in 1974 before it was completed; his successor, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, inaugurated it with Claude Pompidou present on 31 January 1977. The centre called itself a 'cultural machine' that would remove the borders between art forms and generations.
A building turned inside out
This building shows its pipes on the outside instead of hiding them!
That leaves big open floors inside for art.
To keep the inside open, the architects put the ventilation, electricity and water systems, the lifts and the escalators on the outside of the building. Nothing is hidden: you can see the building's inner workings from the street.
The frame was designed to look like a huge construction toy, with the same metal parts repeated and fitted together and painted white. Inside, six levels have big open floors of 7,000 square meters each that can be arranged for any kind of show.
The centre explains that all the systems (ventilation, electricity and water), lifts and escalators were placed outside so the floors could stay flexible. Six levels provide fully modular plateaus of 7,000 m² each, a radical idea in which spaces are not defined by one use.
The framework was designed to resemble a giant construction toy: repeated, interlocking parts form a regular metal mechanism, fully exposed and painted white. Renzo Piano put it this way: visitor movement was grouped on the Piazza side, and the technical installations and piping on the opposite side, so every level is free. The Forum at the entrance is 10 meters high and links three levels.
Colors, the caterpillar and the Piazza
Each color has a job. Blue pipes carry air, yellow ones carry electricity, green ones carry water, and red is for people moving up and down.
A long moving staircase in a see-through tube is called the caterpillar!
The architects gave the outside parts a color code. Blue is for air (the air conditioning), yellow for electricity, green for water, and red for moving people, like the escalators and lifts.
A long escalator in a see-through tube runs across the front. People call it the caterpillar, and as you ride up, you get wide views of Paris. In front of the building lies the Piazza, a big open square based on a Roman piazza, where people meet, stroll and rest.
Four colors outline the structure in a code the architects devised: blue for air flows (air conditioning), yellow for electricity, green for water circuits and red for pedestrian flow (escalators and lifts).
The building's visual signature is the 'caterpillar', a huge escalator running diagonally across the facade as a vertical outdoor path that serves all levels; its transparency gives one of the finest views of Paris, the centre says. The Piazza, based on the design of a Roman piazza, links the city and the building. The Forum was first meant to open straight onto the Piazza like a station concourse; that proved impossible, so a fully transparent glass facade kept the idea of an open space.
- Color code
- blue = air, yellow = electricity, green = water, red = people moving (escalators and lifts)
- Levels
- 10 levels of 7,500 m² each
- Public library (Bpi)
- 10,400 m², up to 2,200 readers
Closed for works until 2030
Right now the building is closed so workers can fix it up.
It is planned to open again in 2030. In the photo, you can see its colorful roof and the moving staircase.
The building closed to the public on 22 September 2025 for a big renovation, and it is planned to reopen in 2030. The works will replace the facades, improve fire safety, make the building easier to reach for people who have trouble moving around, and help it use less energy.
The photo was taken on 5 April 2017 from Montmartre. It shows blue, red and yellow parts on the roof, the white metal frame and the caterpillar escalator, with the rooftops of Paris all around.
The French Ministry of Culture backed a program of technical works decided in 2020: replacing and removing asbestos from all the facades, improving fire safety and access for people with reduced mobility, and making the whole building more energy-efficient. The building closed to the public on 22 September 2025; the centre's calendar has works beginning in April 2026 and a reopening in 2030. AIA Life Designers lead the technical part, and Moreau Kusunoki, with Frida Escobedo Studio, the cultural part.
The photograph (5 April 2017, by Zairon) was taken from Montmartre with a long lens, so the building appears between Paris rooftops in front and tall towers far behind it.
Amazing facts
-
Blue pipes carry air, yellow ones electricity, green ones water, and red is for moving people!
The outside of the building is color-coded: blue for air, yellow for electricity, green for water and red for escalators and lifts.
Piano and Rogers devised a four-color code for the exposed systems: blue air flows, yellow electricity, green water circuits and red pedestrian flow.
-
The long moving staircase on the outside is nicknamed the caterpillar.
The escalator in a see-through tube on the front of the building is known as the caterpillar.
The diagonal escalator on the facade, known as the 'caterpillar', is the building's main artery and serves every level.
-
The museum has more than 140,000 works of art!
The centre's collection of modern and contemporary art has more than 140,000 works.
With more than 140,000 works, the centre calls its collection the richest of modern and contemporary art in Europe and the second in the world.
-
Its library has room for up to 2,200 readers at a time.
The public library inside the building covers 10,400 square meters and has room for up to 2,200 readers.
The Bibliothèque publique d'information covers 10,400 m² and accommodates up to 2,200 readers.
Words to know
- architect
- a person who designs buildings
- escalator
- a moving staircase
- modern art
- art of recent times that often tries new ideas and materials
- piazza
- an open public square
- renovation
- repairing and improving an old building
- ventilation
- moving fresh air through a building
Discovery challenge
-
What do the blue pipes on the building carry?
In the building's color code, what are the blue parts for?
Which system does blue mark in the Centre Pompidou's color code?
- Air
- Water
- Electricity
Show the answer
Air
Air! Green is for water and yellow for electricity.
Air, for the air conditioning. Green is water and yellow is electricity.
Air flows (air conditioning); green marks water circuits and yellow electricity.
-
What is the long moving staircase on the outside called?
What nickname does the escalator on the front of the building have?
What is the diagonal escalator on the facade known as?
- The caterpillar
- The snake
- The ladder
Show the answer
The caterpillar
The caterpillar!
The caterpillar.
The 'caterpillar', the building's main artery.
-
In which year did the Centre Pompidou open?
When did the Centre Pompidou first open?
In which year was the Centre Pompidou inaugurated?
- 1977
- 1889
- 2000
Show the answer
1977
1977!
On 31 January 1977.
On 31 January 1977; it reopened after works on 1 January 2000.
-
Who designed the Centre Pompidou?
Which two architects designed the Centre Pompidou?
Which architects led the construction from 1972?
- Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers
- Gustave Eiffel
- Frank Gehry
Show the answer
Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers
Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers!
Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, two young architects at the time.
Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.
-
Why is the building closed right now?
Why did the Centre Pompidou close in September 2025?
What is the reason for the closure from 2025 to 2030?
- For big repair works
- Because it is too old to use ever again
- To move it to another city
Show the answer
For big repair works
For big repairs. It is planned to open again in 2030!
For a big renovation; it is planned to reopen in 2030.
A renovation: new facades, fire safety, better access and energy use, with a planned 2030 reopening.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the Centre Pompidou in central Paris and describe what the building is used for.
- Explain why the architects put the pipes, lifts and escalators on the outside.
- Read the building's color code and connect each color to a system (air, electricity, water, people).
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- The architects showed the pipes instead of hiding them. Do you like buildings that show how they work? Why?
- Why might big open floors be useful for a museum that changes its shows?
- If you made a color code for your home's pipes and wires, which colors would you choose?
Try at home or in class
- Build a 'building' from a shoebox and glue colored straws on the outside: blue for air, yellow for electricity, green for water and red for stairs.
- Draw a floor plan of an empty room, then rearrange paper cut-outs on it to make an art show.
Key vocabulary: architect, escalator, modern art, piazza, renovation, ventilation
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Who are we? , Centre Pompidou
- An iconic architecture , Centre Pompidou
- 2025-2030, Centre Pompidou is transforming itself! , Centre Pompidou
- Renovation project Centre Pompidou 2030 , Centre Pompidou
- File:Paris Montmartre Blick aufs Centre Georges-Pompidou.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.