Centre Pompidou Metz

Metz is becoming one of the great international centres of contemporary art, competing with Bilbao, New York, Venice, London and Paris thanks to the opening of the brand new “Centre Pompidou- Metz” (May 2010).
The building itself is a staggering architectural feat.

Its roof, shaped like a gigantic big top or coolie hat, forms a white shade (made of fibreglass and Teflon) covering three exhibition galleries consisting of concrete tubes.

The architects, Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, have created an unusual aesthetic design by combining traditional and innovative materials while giving using an intelligent ecological approach to the building itself. For example, they have made the best of natural light by creating a roof that diffuses light inside and reflects it back on the outside. It is a living, open space, a place for people of all ages to meet – and be amazed.

Metz has built a contemporary cathedral in which today’s artists will display their uncertainties, ideas, work and views.