Centre Pompidou-Metz France. Shigeru Ban Architects.

Centre Pompidou-Metz  Metz, France. (2010)

 The sister museum to the Pompidou in Paris, the Pompidou-Metz was design with a similar spirit and an equally interesting and “out there” design. Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban along with Jean de Gastines from France won the contract to design the structure back in 2003. Inspired by a a Chinese hat the roof is like a giant tent that covers the galleries below and is constructed of laminated timber covered in fiberglass and Teflon. At night, the museum lights glow through the roof revealing the intricately built timber mesh roof.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz is centered around a 77 meter spire that juts out from the roof like a rocket exploding from a balloon. The 77 meters is a nod to the year the original Pompidou was built – 1977. The roof undulates and extends out over there edges of the galleries below providing shade and protection from the sun and weather. Light filters down through the PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) white roof covering, letting natural daylight into the gallery space below. The roof was created with an innovative construction method utilizing six beams woven together to create the hexagonal pattern seen from below or at night when lights shine through the membrane.

Below the roof, sits three long rectangular gallery spaces resting on top of one another at 45 degree angle. The galleries poke out from the roof for views of the city and for added daylight. The interior of the museum is finished with light wood, white walls and pearl-grey polished concrete in order to convey a sense of openness. Outside the museum are sloping gardens that collect rainwater and pedestrian paths to the nearby TGV high speed train station.

The architecture and desgin of the Centre Pompidou-Metz is said to meet an “environmental quality and sustainable development criteria, and as such is coherent with the urban redevelopment programme being carried out in the city’s Amphithéâtre district.” Set to open in early May, artwork from the Pompidou’s extensive collection still needs to make it’s way over to the new museum. Besides exhibition space, the gallery will include an auditorium, café and restaurant, a bookshop-boutique, resource center and a studio for live performances.