Pompidou Centre 40th Anniversary

The Pompidou Centre in Paris celebrating its 40th anniversary. This iconic building is instantly recognisable because of its radical architecture. It has divided opinion and sparked decades of controversy since it was built in the heart of one of the French capital’s oldest neighbourhoods. Designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, it was opened to the public in January 1977.

From the moment it opened to the public it rapidly became one of the most popular cultural venues in the world and one of the most visited monuments in France.

One of the fundamentals of the building at the time for of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, was to open the building onto the outside and excite the curiosity of passers-by. While in the past, it was mocked for its exposed pipes, with some critics stating that it looked like a building site, the modernist centre has now settled into it’s surroundings in the French capital, and we happen to be big fans of the exposed ductwork.

For the Royal Academy’s Richard Rogers exhibition back in 2013, an exhibition to celebrate his work, Airmatic produced these colourful display ducts.

And they now reside proudly outside of our manufacturing facility in Bury, Greater Manchester…

Happy Birthday to The Pompidou Centre!