Centre Pompidou-Metz
France · 2010
Photo · Photo by Didier Boy de la Tour
A premier precedent for organic timber gridshell engineering and tensile membrane roofing, demonstrating how monumental public canopies can integrate orthogonal gallery volumes.
- What we like about this project
- A tall white spire pierces the peak of the membrane roof, flying the French flag.
Materials
- timber-glulam
- ptfe-membrane
- glass
- steel
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- timber-gridshell
- tensile-membrane-roof
- cantilevered-gallery
- undulating-canopy
- shigeru-ban
Style tags
- structural-expressionism
- organic
- high-tech
Visual tags
- organic-architecture
- gridshell
- tensile-structure
- civic-plaza
- museum
- wood-structure
- Geometry
- An organic, undulating timber grid-shell roof structure mimics the weave of a Chinese hat, draped over orthogonal white gallery volumes that pierce through the envelope.
- Facade system
- Glazed curtain wall base beneath a self-supporting timber and membrane canopy.
- Structural guess
- Double-curved glulam timber gridshell supported by concrete funnel columns, topped with a translucent PTFE-coated fiberglass membrane.
- Spatial scale
- Monumental civic scale, with the roof structure soaring several stories high above pedestrian visitors.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting soft shadows beneath the deep timber canopy, highlighting the texture of the woven wood grid.
- Atmosphere
- A bright, airy, and structurally dramatic civic gateway.
- Environmental context
- Set within a wide, paved public plaza under a clear blue sky with light clouds.
- Spatial experience
- The sweeping roof creates a vast, sheltered outdoor plaza at the ground level, transitioning smoothly from open public space to protected interior galleries.
- Composition rhythm
- The undulating, woven timber lattice creates a continuous fluid rhythm that contrasts with the static, rectangular gallery boxes.
- Style reading
- Structural expressionism with organic, high-tech craft influences
- Program
- Modern and contemporary art museum
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- timber-glulam, ptfe-membrane, glass, steel, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- timber-gridshell, tensile-membrane-roof, cantilevered-gallery, undulating-canopy, shigeru-ban
- Style tags
- structural-expressionism, organic, high-tech
- Visual tags
- organic-architecture, gridshell, tensile-structure, civic-plaza, museum, wood-structure
- Geometry
- An organic, undulating timber grid-shell roof structure mimics the weave of a Chinese hat, draped over orthogonal white gallery volumes that pierce through the envelope.
- Facade system
- Glazed curtain wall base beneath a self-supporting timber and membrane canopy.
- Structural guess
- Double-curved glulam timber gridshell supported by concrete funnel columns, topped with a translucent PTFE-coated fiberglass membrane.
- Spatial scale
- Monumental civic scale, with the roof structure soaring several stories high above pedestrian visitors.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting soft shadows beneath the deep timber canopy, highlighting the texture of the woven wood grid.
- Atmosphere
- A bright, airy, and structurally dramatic civic gateway.
- Environmental context
- Set within a wide, paved public plaza under a clear blue sky with light clouds.
- Spatial experience
- The sweeping roof creates a vast, sheltered outdoor plaza at the ground level, transitioning smoothly from open public space to protected interior galleries.
- Composition rhythm
- The undulating, woven timber lattice creates a continuous fluid rhythm that contrasts with the static, rectangular gallery boxes.
- Style reading
- Structural expressionism with organic, high-tech craft influences
- Program
- Modern and contemporary art museum
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture