The Centre Pompidou is moving: diary of a logistical and emotional ordeal

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Story: Storage of masterpieces, wide-ranging programming, international expansions... Beaubourg is preparing to live far from its colorful pipes. An account of the final weeks before the building closes for five years of renovations.

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Laurent Le Bon's running gag is starting to run out of steam. Every time he speaks, the president of the Centre Pompidou intones the same refrain: "Scoop! We're not closing. We're transforming!" Hatched in 1977, with its famous caterpillar of escalators, Beaubourg is getting a makeover. Construction will begin in April 2026 and be completed in 2030. A facelift that has become imperative. In September, a pipe fell during the night (without causing any damage). The molt is leading to the gradual closure of the spaces until September 22, the last day of public access. By then, the 2,500 works scattered throughout the floors must be removed, the busy Public Information Library (BPI) relocated, and the off-site programming developed... On the eve of a long journey, which will see the Centre Pompidou flit across France and the world, here is a diary of a transformation.

Monday, January 27: Beaubourg vs. Concorde

In an office of the administration of the Centre Pompidou, a stone's throw from the flagship, the photographer Wolfgang Tillmans , 56, unveils, with plans in hand, his colossal invasion: his monograph "Nothing prepared us for it - Everything prepared us for it" will occupy until September 22 the 6,000 square meters left vacant on level 2 by the departure of the BPI to the ^12th arrondissement (opening on August 25). This s…

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