Centre Pompidou in Paris closes for major five-year renovation works
The Centre Pompidou in Paris is set to be closed for five years in order to undergo major renovation works.
It had already been preparing for the impending closure over the course of the past few months, with its permanent collections having been shut off to the public since March, and only showcasing temporary exhibitions throughout the summer.
When the display of retrospective works from the German artist Wolfgang Tillman closed on September 22nd, it also meant that the Centre Pompidou closed its doors for the final time in the next half a decade, as it is set to undergo the largest renovations in its entire 48-year history.
Originally opened in 1977 as a “cultural machine” helmed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, the new design will be overseen by a French-Japanese architectural firm called Moreau Kusunoki.
The full cost of the work is set to total a massive €460 million, with the French government contributing up to €280 million towards that cost, and an additional €50 million coming from a private investment from Saudi Arabia.
The main focus of the renovations is to improve the basic infrastructure of the building, including improving fire safety procedures and the accessibility experience for disabled visitors to the museum, as well as an ongoing project to remove asbestos from the external front-facing facade of the building.
Speaking of the museum’s eventual vision that the building works will aim to achieve, the Centre Pompidou’s president, Laurent Le Bon, said: “We’re keeping the exterior framework, but from the basement to the top floor, we’re changing everything.”
In the meantime, fans of the museum will still be able to see the usual works displayed in it, as they prepare to be moved to various other museums and sites all across France. Subsequently, the main Centre Pompidou museum is set to reopen in 2030, although a specific date within this has not been confirmed.
