Paris’ Centre Pompidou has announced plans to close for five years from summer 2025 until 2030 for a major expansion and renovation project.
The original renovation plan involved closing the Centre Pompidou for four years from the end of 2023. However, the museum has now extended its closure period by a year.
Designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and inaugurated in 1977, the Centre Pompidou will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2027.
The renovations will begin in 2026. During its closure, the museum will focus on its new sites in Brussels and New Jersey. These are now scheduled to open in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
The museum is also developing a new contemporary art museum in Seoul, South Korea for 2025, and creating another museum in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla development.
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is collaborating with the French government agency Afalula on the $15 billion AlUla project, described as the world’s largest living museum.
The new museum in Seoul will be located in the headquarters of the Hanwha Group, a South Korean business conglomerate. It will be designed by the French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
The new sites will join the Centre Pompidou’s existing locations in Metz, Malaga and Shanghai.
Centre Pompidou to focus on opening new sites
While the Centre Pompidou is closed, it will partner with institutions including the Grand Palais and the Louvre on various projects, the Art Newspaper reports.
The museum will launch an architectural competition on 12 May, with six projects chosen at the end of this year and a winner selected in 2024.
The cost of the Centre Pompidou’s expansion and renovation, provided by the French state, is €262 million.
In more news, the Centre Pompidou recently became the first museum in France to offer EnChroma glasses for colour blind visitors.
Images: Centre Pompidou
