Paris’s Centre Pompidou has closed its doors to begin the most sweeping renovation in its 48-year history. The overhaul will modernize the landmark museum’s infrastructure and visitor experience, while addressing long-deferred safety concerns. The museum closed off its permanent collection in March, but hosted temporary exhibitions throughout the summer. The final exhibition, a retrospective of the German artist Wolfgang Tillmans, closed on September 22nd.
Designed by architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, the Pompidou opened in 1977 as a radical “cultural machine,” according to the museum, with a distinctive exterior defined by exposed pipes and other infrastructure. The renovation of the building by French Japanese architectural firm Moreau Kusunoki, in collaboration with Frida Escobedo Studio, is estimated to cost €460 million ($542 million). Technical work will be overseen by AIA Life Designers, with the French state contributing €280 million ($330 million) and private funding, including €50 million ($58 million) from Saudi Arabia, covering the remainder.
Renovation priorities include removing asbestos from the façade, upgrading fire safety, and improving accessibility for disabled visitors. Officials say the improvements to climate control could also reduce the museum’s energy consumption by as much as 40%, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP). “We’re keeping the exterior framework, but from the basement to the top floor, we’re changing everything,” the Pompidou’s president, Laurent Le Bon, told the AFP.
During the renovations, the museum’s collection and programming will be presented across France and abroad through the museum’s “Constellation” initiative. The program kicked off in the spring. Exhibitions are scheduled at partner venues including the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the West Bund Museum in Shanghai, and H’ART Museum in Amsterdam. A new facility, the Centre Pompidou Francilien—Fabrique de l’Art, will open in 2026 in Massy, a suburb of Paris, to support the museum’s conservation efforts.
The Pompidou’s main campus is expected to reopen in 2030, but an exact date has yet to be set. “We hope that visitors will feel a bit [of] the same shock as when the Centre opened in 1977,” Le Bon said.
