Paris (AFP)
Before the major project which will begin in the fall of 2023, the Center Pompidou completed its first facelift on Wednesday: a single entrance was fitted out in its piazza and its "caterpillar" of escalators was completely redone.
Since the start of work at the end of summer 2019, the piazza, a place where people can sit, meet and where street performances take place, had been closed to the public.
Visitors and students all had to enter from the rear of the building, where temporary elevators had been installed.
With this renovation, the museum and the Public Information Library (BPI), the first public reading room in Paris, will have a common entrance.
Signature of the futuristic building of the architect Renzo Piano inaugurated in 1977, the "caterpillar" which makes it possible to discover old Paris, as one goes up from floor to floor, has also been redone, even if its exterior appearance has not changed.
After forty years of intensive use and more than 250 million users, it was necessary to replace the escalators and modernize the passageways by improving their thermal comfort, particularly in summer.
All the glass panels of the track and passageways have therefore been replaced.
The public can freely use the caterpillar to go up to admire the view, without having to pay a ticket.
And access to the Forums on the ground floor and in the basement remains free to attend events such as debates and performances.
The Center Pompidou will close completely at the end of 2023 for a second, much larger project, before reopening its doors in early 2027: it will consist of its asbestos removal and its renovation in order to meet safety standards, various technical, fire-fighting standards, etc. .
It will also be a question of obtaining energy savings and making it more accessible to the disabled.
© 2021 AFP