6/ The Building

Historical Background : The International Competition


An international architectural competition was initiated in 1970. Inspired by the objectives of President Georges Pompidou, the basic program had been designed by the team of SΘbastien Loste, The jury, presided over by Jean ProuvΘ, an internationally renowned builder, selected as its laureates Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini, assisted by Ove Arup and Partners.

The delegation for the creation of the Centre Beaubourg (as it was then known) was set up at the end of 1971; it was subsequently decreed an autonomous government institution for the building of the Centre Beaubourg by the minister of cultural affairs. Robert Bordaz was named chairman of the board of this institution.

The Construction Project and the Opening of the Centre

The project got under way in April 1972, and construction of the metal roof began in September 1974. The Centre's future institutions took shape during the same period. The Centre de crΘation industrielle became part of the Centre Beaubourg in 1972; two years later, it was decided to incorporate the collections of the MusΘe national d'art moderne, then located in the Palais de Tokyo.

After nearly five years of construction, the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture) was inaugurated by President ValΘrie Giscard d'Estaing on 31 January 1977, and it was opened to the public two days later.

Between 1977 and 1995, the Centre Georges Pompidou welcomed some 145 millions visitors.

Facts and Figures about the Building

According to Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini, the Centre's architects, the building was conceived as an "evolutionary spatial diagram." In order to privilege interdisciplinarity, they sought to optimize spatial mobility. The resulting structure consists of two parts :
- an infrastructure of 3 floors housing technical areas and services
- a vast glass and steel superstructure of 7 floors, including the terrace and mezzanine, concentrating most of the Centre's activities with the exception of Ircam, located on Stravinsky Square.

Dimensions of the Building


surface of the site: 2 hectares
building surface: 103,305 sq. m
superstructure: 7 floors
height: 42 m (Rue Beaubourg side), 45.5 m (Piazza side)
length: 166 m
width: 60 m
infrastructure: 3 floors
depth: 18 m
length: 180 m
width: 111 m
Construction materials
earthworks : 300, 000 cu. m
reinforced concrete : 50, 000 cu. m
metal armature : 15, 000 tons of steel
facades :
glass surfaces : 11 000 sq. m
opaque surfaces : 7 000 sq. m

Energy


electricity:
installed: 42 M KVA
consumed: 35 M KVA
backup: 3,200 KVA
refrigerating power: 11 million frigories/h
air conditioning: 42 units
quantity of air circulated: 1,600,000 cu. m/h

The Metal Roof


It is composed of 14 posts supporting 13 bays placed at intervals of 12.8 m with a span of 48 m. Each level of the posts is reinforced with molded steel elements called "gerberettes," which measure 8 m long and weigh 10 tons. The 45-m long beams rest on these "gerberettes," which distribute the stress over the posts and are themselves balanced by tie-beams.

The roofing is braced in the vertical planes of the four facades and the horizontal planes of the flooring (composed of interlaced girders covered by a concrete slab).

Each floor measures 7 m high. The linkage is carried out vertically from south to north, bay by bay and over five levels.The glass and steel superstructure envelops the vast open spaces.

The Colors


In order to obtain a maximum of functional mobility, the interior space was freed of technical equipment through the attachment of four different sets of tubing to the outside of the building. These can be identified by their distinctive coloring :

blue = air (air conditioning)
green = fluids (water circuits)
yellow = electricity
red = circulation (elevators), security (fire apparatus)

Construction Costs (in 1972 francs)


purchase of the site: 85 million francs
main building and equipment: 750 million francs
Ircam: 100 million francs
Stravinsky Square: 28 million francs
miscellaneous: 30 million francs

Total: 993 millions francs

latest update : 22 june 1998 ⌐ CNAC-GP