Centre Pompidou Interior — Exposed Ductwork and Galerie des Enfants

4 October 2017 · Paris

The Centre Pompidou turns its structure inside out — ducts, trusses, and service pipes run exposed across the ceiling in trademark blue, while a large inflatable sculpture in camouflage-style patches of purple, green, and black anchors the Galerie des Enfants level below. Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers designed the building so the infrastructure is the architecture; the frame you're looking through isn't decoration but the building doing its job in plain sight. The boutique and group reception signs at ground level keep the whole scene grounded in the practical, the monumental sitting comfortably next to the everyday.