01 April 2007

CENTRE GEORGES POMPIDOU

Centre Georges Pompidou (constructed 1971–1977 and known as the Pompidou Centre in English) is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the IVe arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles and the Marais. It houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information, a vast public library, and the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg. It is named after Georges Pompidou, who was president of France from 1969 to 1974, and was opened on January 31, 1977. The building was designed by architect Richard Rogers, whose design was not very popular at first. However, under the guidance of its first director, Pontus Hultén, it quickly became a noted attraction in Paris.
http://www.centrepompidou.fr

LOUVRE PYRAMID


Louvre Pyramid is the large metal and glass pyramid which serves as the main entrance to the Musée du Louvre and has in the meantime become a landmark for the city of Paris.
Commissioned by the French president François Mitterrand, it was built in 1989 by the architect I. M. Pei from New York, who was responsible for the design of the Miho Museum in Japan among others. The structure, which was constructed entirely with glass segments, reaches a height of 20.6 meters (about 70 feet); its square base has sides of 35 meters (115 feet). It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.http://www.louvre.fr