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Centre Georges Pompidou

Presentation By: Natasha Reising

Piano p. 40

Architects: Renzo Piano Richard Rogers

Born in 1937, the Italian Architect Renzo Piano was interested in architecture at an early age. He graduated from the University of Florence in 1964, followed by Milan Polytechnic. Piano was inspired by two people in his profession during his lifetime, Jean Prouve and Franco Albini. These two men were his mentors during his 35 year successful career. Piano started working as an Architect independently, then was afliated with Richard Rogers before opening his nal rm with fellow architect Peter Rice in 1980.

The Building: Centre Georges Pompidou Paris, France 1976

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An active and accessible machine in which the arts could interact with each other and all social strata.1

Centre Georges Pompidou opened in 1978 centered in the heart of Paris s historical center. The building stands as a form which houses various functions. Within the structure is an Art Museum, a library, a design center, and also a music center. The bold architectural style used by Piano and Rogers contrasts with the historic buildings in the crowded area of downtown Paris. President Pompidou proposed a building in 1969 for this former site of Les Halles. This cultural center stands six stories tall and rises above the other buildings in close proximity. One prominent design feature of the site is the large open area in front of Centre Georges Pompidou. Piano used incorporated this feature in his design to include a place for visitors and the Parisians to enjoy the beauty of the building. The space is similar to the Italian idea of a piazza.
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Buchanan p. 26

Piano s idea sketch1

Themes of the design2: Flexible envelope Simple Geometric Form Open Piazza
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Steel Structure Exterior Mechanical Building Circulation

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Occupancy zoned(connection with Paris)

Transverse Section1

Longitudinal Section2
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North Elevation1

Typical Floor Plan2

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The Facts: Design Competition Winners: Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers Construction Time: 7 years (1971-1978) Location: Paris France (Beaubourg) Structure: Steel and Concrete Slabs Floor Area1: 65,000 m2 Cost2: $363,858,691(over budget by 11.7%) Height: 45.5 meters

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The Structure: Cast Steel Columns Exterior Steel Bracing The Gerberette Concrete Floor Panels

Silver p.116

Steel is the only permanent element of structure. The 850 mm steel columns surrounding the exterior of the concrete cast oor plates to create part of the industrial looking exoskeleton which can carry 3000 tons of vertical force. The steel Xbracing controls the lateral forces applied to the structure and enable the exterior to have thermal movement because of the hinge connections. The columns create 13 visual bays which brace and support the mechanical systems. One example is pictured on the left, the circulation in clear shafts 1.
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Diagram showing the relationship between each steel structural member.

The exterior steel bracing consists of cross bracing and horizontal bracing. Post tensioning was used to ensure that the 60 mm steel rods stayed in place when attached to the steel columns and concrete oor beams. The horizontal bracing connects the exterior cross-bracing to the columns. This part of the structure stabilizes the columns from vertical buckling forces. This occurs at the entry level then every other oor until the top of the building.

Diagram of Gerberette and truss connection1

The Gerberettes are the cantilevered arms that connect the steel columns to the 157 foot long and 3 feet deep trusses which enable the concrete oor slabs to be column free. These gerberettes are needed to make sure the loads from the six oors of the building are transferred down the center axis of each column to prevent bending moments2.
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Diagram showing the points of pressure and the tension and compression forces1

Steel trusses are benecial in this construction because of their ability to withstand tension and compression forces. During this construction the workers realized that the size and weight of each truss was almost too large for the span length. These trusses act as deep horizontal beams which pass the shear forces to the corners and then down to the ground. The trusses are placed together using pin connections. There are two advantages of this construction type: 1. The material was placed exactly where needed 2. The webbed steel makes the building feel light and airy2
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Centre Georges Pompidou

A Triumphant Crystallization of the national cultural spirit.2

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Works Cited: Buchanan, Peter. Renzo Piano Building Workshop. London; Phaidon Press Limited, 2000. Piano, Renzo. Renzo Piano: Logbook. Paris; The Monicelli Press Inc.,1997. Sandaker and Eggen. The Structural Basis of Architecture. NY; Sandaker and Eggen, 1992. Silver, Nathan. The Making of Beaubourg. London; The MIT Press, 1994.