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Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument
A lively intellectual biography of one of the 20th century’s most iconic buildings

The Centre Georges Pompidou, also called Beaubourg, is today considered an icon of contemporary Paris, the quintessence of a modern building, and a model for what a museum can be. In 1971, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, together with the engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, won an international architecture competition with their innovative and irreverent design. Completed in 1977, the building was at first received skeptically by critics, yet it was quickly embraced by the public as a beloved monument of the modern city of Paris. This lively intellectual biography of the building explores its history and the reasons for its success, from its genesis as a politically calculated response to Paris’s turbulent 1968 student protests to the role played by architects in its construction, as well as the historical influences and the engineering solutions that inform its design. A key reason for the Centre Pompidou’s success indeed lies in its ability to channel architectural memory, connecting it powerfully to Paris’s historic urban fabric. This essential text on one of the twentieth century’s most significant buildings is accompanied by a portfolio of rare drawings and photographs. 
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Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument
A lively intellectual biography of one of the 20th century’s most iconic buildings

The Centre Georges Pompidou, also called Beaubourg, is today considered an icon of contemporary Paris, the quintessence of a modern building, and a model for what a museum can be. In 1971, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, together with the engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, won an international architecture competition with their innovative and irreverent design. Completed in 1977, the building was at first received skeptically by critics, yet it was quickly embraced by the public as a beloved monument of the modern city of Paris. This lively intellectual biography of the building explores its history and the reasons for its success, from its genesis as a politically calculated response to Paris’s turbulent 1968 student protests to the role played by architects in its construction, as well as the historical influences and the engineering solutions that inform its design. A key reason for the Centre Pompidou’s success indeed lies in its ability to channel architectural memory, connecting it powerfully to Paris’s historic urban fabric. This essential text on one of the twentieth century’s most significant buildings is accompanied by a portfolio of rare drawings and photographs. 
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Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument

Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument

by Francesco Dal Co
Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument

Centre Pompidou: Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and the Making of a Modern Monument

by Francesco Dal Co

Overview

A lively intellectual biography of one of the 20th century’s most iconic buildings

The Centre Georges Pompidou, also called Beaubourg, is today considered an icon of contemporary Paris, the quintessence of a modern building, and a model for what a museum can be. In 1971, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, together with the engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, won an international architecture competition with their innovative and irreverent design. Completed in 1977, the building was at first received skeptically by critics, yet it was quickly embraced by the public as a beloved monument of the modern city of Paris. This lively intellectual biography of the building explores its history and the reasons for its success, from its genesis as a politically calculated response to Paris’s turbulent 1968 student protests to the role played by architects in its construction, as well as the historical influences and the engineering solutions that inform its design. A key reason for the Centre Pompidou’s success indeed lies in its ability to channel architectural memory, connecting it powerfully to Paris’s historic urban fabric. This essential text on one of the twentieth century’s most significant buildings is accompanied by a portfolio of rare drawings and photographs. 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780300221299
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication date: 11/29/2016
Series: Great Architects/Great Buildings
Pages: 168
Product dimensions: 7.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range: 2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Francesco Dal Co is professor of history of architecture at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura Venezia (IUAV) and director of the architecture magazine Casabella. His many publications include Modern Architecture (with Manfredo Tafuri) and Figures of Architecture and Thought.

Table of Contents

Preface vi

Chapter 1 Paris 1968: "Reform Yes, Masquerade No" 1

Chapter 2 Butterfly Effects: Beaubourg's Architects and Engineers 15

Chapter 3 The Competition: The President, the Jury, and the Jesters 53

Chapter 4 A Legitimate Transgression 67

Chapter 5 The Intact Beauty of Paris 91

Portfolio of Photographs and Drawings 103

Bibliographical Note 147

Acknowledgments 157

Photograph Credits 158

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