Gumuchdjian Architects

Pompidou Centre-Metz

Shigeru Ban Architects and Jean de Gastines Architects with Philip Gumuchdjian for the conception of the winning competition design
Metz, France

The new Pompidou Centre-Metz opens in May 2010 and houses permanent and temporary exhibitions from the Musee National d’Art Moderne.
The commission was won by the architectural collaboration between Shigeru Ban Architects (Tokyo), Jean de Gastines (Paris) and Gumuchdjian Architects (London) in 2003 beating off designs from amongst others Herzog & de Meuron, Dominique Perrault and Foreign Office Architects.
The building is conceived as a large pavilion set within a new Park. A public outdoor exhibition space stretches into the building beneath a giant hexagonal woven timber roof. The idea of proposing the Park was due to the absence of any urban quality on the massive post-industrial site.
These public spaces act as the ‘shared ground’ between old and new districts of the City. Beneath the roof three cantilevered Gallery spaces measuring 100 m x 15 m house the collections and frame majestic views of the great Cathedral and other monuments of the historic city of Metz.
The great roof spans over 60m and encloses a huge Forum space within which the Galleries are suspended. Circulation between Galleries provide the visitor with a dramatic experience and a sharp contrast to the cool Gallery spaces within.
The design exploits mainly passive means to produce an energy efficient building. The large overhanging roof protects the facades from the weather in winter and provides shade in the summer.
The organic form of the roof with its woven timber structure is like a great trellis connected to the ground by gentle whirlwinds of timber and steel.
Facilities include a roof top restaurant, cinema and a large multi-purpose creative workshop. The emphasis of the design is on creating a building that is in harmony with its Parkland environment that clearly expresses openness and accessibility – for us the key innovative qualities of the original Pompidou Centre.
The Gallery spaces are cool and elegantly flexible. Their environmental systems are entirely hidden within a floor plenum and above a permeable ceiling system providing curators with maximum flexibility (each Gallery will be re-hung every third year).
The winning competition design team included landscape architect Michel Desvignes, Cecil Balmond of Arup Engineers, and legendary lighting designer Ingo Maurer.