Pompidou – Past | Present | Future

Team

Name: Pieter De Cuyper

Nationality: Luxembourg / Belgium

Institution / Company: Architect at JWA Berlin

-FINALIST of Re-Draw.04: Centre Pompidou Competition

What defines the Centre Pompidou? What meaning does it still have today, and where is it heading  in the future?

The post-war economic boom in western societies led to a rise of mass culture and an increasingly technological society. Architecture collectives, such as Archigram and Superstudio developed architectural utopias as a critique towards modernism. inspired by this time period, Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano build the Centre Pomidou, a neo-futuristic utopia.

The Centre Pompidou managed to become a new landmark for culture, art and performances of any kind, even though it was heavily doubted and criticized. To this day, it is a main spot where all people come together to get inspired by the building, the art spaces, the library, the shops… What makes this building still pumping millions of visitors through its tubes and escalators every year.

A place where there seems to be a perfect balance between the accessibility of space, knowledge, and emotions.

As the world moves more towards digital spaces, is the neo-futuristic utopia becoming slowly a folly, or can it adapt and react to new audiences?

#collage #centrepompidou #hightecharchitecture #neofuturistic #utopia