Overview

A lively intellectual biography of one of the 20th century’s most iconic buildings The Centre Georges Pompidou, also called Beaubourg, is today considered an icon of contemporary Paris, the quintessence of a modern building, and a model for what a museum can be. In 1971, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, together with the engineering firm Ove Arup & Partners, won an international architecture competition with their innovative and irreverent design. Completed in 1977, the building was at first received skeptically by critics, yet it was quickly embraced by the public as a beloved monument of the modern city of Paris. This lively intellectual biography of the building explores its history and the reasons for its success, from its genesis as a politically calculated response to Paris’s turbulent 1968 student protests to the role played by architects in its construction, as well as the historical influences and the engineering solutions that inform its design. A key reason for the Centre Pompidou’s success indeed lies in its ability to channel architectural memory, connecting it powerfully to Paris’s historic urban fabric. This essential text on one of the twentieth century’s most significant buildings is accompanied by a portfolio of rare drawings and photographs. 

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9780300221299

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Reviews

Francesco Dal Co weaves together anecdotes, history, and a poignant analysis of the design and construction of one of Paris's most iconic buildings, as well as its surrounding political and social conditions. Early blueprints and photographs are paired with news coverage and critiques to contextualize the Centre Pompidou as a truly influential Modernist undertaking. -Metropolis Metropolis Dal Co looks behind, or rather through, [the Centre Pompidou's] facade to reveal the complex past and present of that singular stucture... [He] includes revelations throughout this erudite study. -Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly Francesco Dal Co has reconstructed an incredible adventure and his account is revelatory. Upon reading it, I realized many things that I had personally experienced but had never before understood. -Renzo Piano -- Renzo Piano The Centre Pompidou has inaugurated the age of spectacular cultural projects. From its genesis in post-'68 Paris to its worldwide reception, Francesco Dal Co has masterfully chronicled the epics of its invention. -Jean-Louis Cohen, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University -- Jean-Louis Cohen Francesco Dal Co's excellent history delivers an agile and incisive perspective on the Centre Georges Pompidou and its political and cultural context in the wake of Paris 1968. -Richard Rogers -- Richard Rogers This indispensable book recounts how architects and engineers working in late-1960s London gave birth to an architectural vision in the iconic Centre Pompidou, a building that still inspires architects today. -Rafael Moneo, Pritzker Prize-winning architect and professor, Harvard Graduate School of Design -- Rafael Moneo This unparalleled account of the Centre Pompidou eloquently draws together the many threads that make it one of the twentieth-century's key buildings. Based solidly in the historical record, the book is also a meditative reflection on architecture and history writing today. -Nicholas Adams, Vassar College -- Nicholas Adams

Francesco Dal Co has reconstructed an incredible adventure and his account is revelatory. Upon reading it, I realized many things that I had personally experienced but had never before understood. -Renzo Piano -- Renzo Piano Francesco Dal Co's excellent history delivers an agile and incisive perspective on the Centre Georges Pompidou and its political and cultural context in the wake of Paris 1968. -Richard Rogers -- Richard Rogers The Centre Pompidou has inaugurated the age of spectacular cultural projects. From its genesis in post-'68 Paris to its worldwide reception, Francesco Dal Co has masterfully chronicled the epics of its invention. -Jean-Louis Cohen, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University -- Jean-Louis Cohen This unparalleled account of the Centre Pompidou eloquently draws together the many threads that make it one of the twentieth-century's key buildings. Based solidly in the historical record, the book is also a meditative reflection on architecture and history writing today. -Nicholas Adams, Vassar College -- Nicholas Adams This indispensable book recounts how architects and engineers working in late-1960s London gave birth to an architectural vision in the iconic Centre Pompidou, a building that still inspires architects today. -Rafael Moneo, Pritzker Prize-winning architect and professor, Harvard Graduate School of Design -- Rafael Moneo

Francesco Dal Co weaves together anecdotes, history, and a poignant analysis of the design and construction of one of Paris's most iconic buildings, as well as its surrounding political and social conditions. Early blueprints and photographs are paired with news coverage and critiques to contextualize the Centre Pompidou as a truly influential Modernist undertaking. -Metropolis Metropolis Dal Co looks behind, or rather through, [the Centre Pompidou's] facade to reveal the complex past and present of that singular stucture... [He] includes revelations throughout this erudite study. -Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly Francesco Dal Co has reconstructed an incredible adventure and his account is revelatory. Upon reading it, I realized many things that I had personally experienced but had never before understood. -Renzo Piano -- Renzo Piano The Centre Pompidou has inaugurated the age of spectacular cultural projects. From its genesis in post-'68 Paris to its worldwide reception, Francesco Dal Co has masterfully chronicled the epics of its invention. -Jean-Louis Cohen, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University -- Jean-Louis Cohen Francesco Dal Co's excellent history delivers an agile and incisive perspective on the Centre Georges Pompidou and its political and cultural context in the wake of Paris 1968. -Richard Rogers -- Richard Rogers This indispensable book recounts how architects and engineers working in late-1960s London gave birth to an architectural vision in the iconic Centre Pompidou, a building that still inspires architects today. -Rafael Moneo, Pritzker Prize-winning architect and professor, Harvard Graduate School of Design -- Rafael Moneo This unparalleled account of the Centre Pompidou eloquently draws together the many threads that make it one of the twentieth-century's key buildings. Based solidly in the historical record, the book is also a meditative reflection on architecture and history writing today. -Nicholas Adams, Vassar College -- Nicholas Adams Dal Co's book, an extensive and intriguing history of the structure that transformed a bland car park in Centre Beaubourg into museum of the future, offers a great starting point for a serious reflection on its impact and legacy. -Patrick Sisson, Curbed -- Patrick Sisson Curbed

Author Information

Francesco Dal Co is professor of history of architecture at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura Venezia (IUAV) and director of the architecture magazine Casabella. His many publications include Modern Architecture (with Manfredo Tafuri) and Figures of Architecture and Thought.

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