French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot has said that the Centre Pompidou, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, in Paris will close for a three-year major renovation work from 2023 to the end of 2026. 

Speaking to a French newspaper Le Figaro on January 25, the Centre Pompidou, the top cultural destination of Paris, will undergo for a major repair work for its ageing structural components and Roselyne Bachelot said the building has showed signs in the past and now it needs to be repaired and stay fully closed. 

A press statement from the Centre Pompidou said that "following the Ministerial Committee on Real Estate Projects (CMPI) held on January 22, 2021, the Ministry of Culture approved the implementation of the master plan for the work of the Center Pompidou."

The Centre Pompidou will be closed at site at the end of 2023 and is expected to be completed at the end of 2026. L’Oppic, operator of Cultural Heritage and Real Estate Projects, will be working on the project management of renovation.

"There were two options on the table, one being to restore the centre while keeping it open, the other being full closure," Bachelot told Le Figaro.

"I chose the second because it turned out to be shorter in time and a little cheaper," Bachelot added.

Image courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) 

Opened in 1977, the Centre Pompidou, located at the heart of the city of Paris, is a significant piece of the style of high-tech architecture and is the largest museum for modern art in Europe. The Centre Pompidou is the first example of an "inside-out" building with its all structural, mechanical and circulation systems that are exposed to the exterior of the building.

The repair work is estimated to be completed in three years and will take place on a closed site. The repair work will allow the building to be completely removed asbestos and completely renovated in order to meet the safety standards, technical and energy standards in force as well as accessibility obligations for people with disabilities.

"This work is a guarantee for the future of the Center Pompidou. Concretely, it is for us to preserve our first masterpiece - the building - which has not undergone any major renovation since 1977," said Serge Lasvignes, President of Centre Pompidou.

"These works are essential for it to remain this world icon of modernity and architecture which attracts millions of visitors every year."

"I am delighted with this decision, which will allow us to celebrate our 50th birthday in a big way and which fully places the Center in the 21st century."

"We are already working hard on it, carrying out ambitious projects. The closure period will not really mean the end of our missions, on the contrary!," Lasvignes added in a press statement. 

Image courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP)

In 2017, the museum had announced that the building would receive a two-year long facelift, which was estimated to cost at least €100 million. Work on its external "caterpillar" escalators began in September 2019 which coincided with the coronavirus pandemic. But, the museum has been stayed closed from March 2020 to October 2020 like all other cultural venues affected by the pandemic.

This is the second major upgrade that causes the building to stayed fully closed since its opening in 1977. The building previously closed for an €88m renovation from 1998 to 2000.

Image courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP)

Centre Pompidou revealed details of repair work

In its press release, the Centre Pompidou has also revealed details for the repair work in three-year period. It said that the renovation work will comprise technical, safety, sustainable components of the building, all are linked to the dilapidated nature of the structures and the work will ensure the current requirements of environmental, health and energy standards. 

Renovation work will have three main objectives: the reliability of the installations, renovation and energy optimization and fire safety and accessibility. 

The reliability of the installations will include: Total asbestos removal from the facade and replacement of all the bay windows, treatment of corrosions of the main structure and metal locksmith works, repair of paintings and floors.

Replacement or renovation of the forum's elevators, freight elevators and escalators, replacement of end-of-life or deteriorated high current installations and sanitary plumbing installations and resumption of IT architecture and servers, modernization of low-current systems, and safety installations.

Renovation and energy optimization will include:  Adaptation of the level of air treatment by zone according to their use, replacement of mixing boxes (air conditioning system), and replacement of air handling units in infrastructure, renovation of air-cooling towers (treatment of the risk of legionella) and replacement of low current systems and migration to all IP...

Fire safety and accessibility will include: Treatment of fire stability, replacement of fire dampers and compliance of smoke extraction and replacement of intumescent paints, completion of accessibility works.

The Pompidou Centre was featured in World Architecture Community's video series, titled Life and Architecture, in the episode "BIG Projects In Paris (Part 1)", the episode also features Orsay Station by Victor Laloux, Bastille Opera House by Carlos Ott and Louvre Museum by I.M. Pei. 

All video series can be watched in World Architecture Community's Videos page.

Top image via worldsultimatetravels.com

> via Le Figaro & Centre Pompidou