Centre Pompidou

Modern-art centre in the 4th arrondissement, Paris (Literary).

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
Neither Here Nor There	Bill Bryson	subject	Bryson tries to like it, and can’t.

Neither Here Nor There — Bill Bryson (1991)

Source: Neither Here Nor There · Readwise highlight

But what I really dislike about buildings like the Pompidou Center, and Paris is choking on them, is that they are just showing off. Here’s Richard Rogers saying to the world: “Look, I put all the pipes on the outside. Am I cute enough to kiss or what?”

• Role: subject
• In the book: With the Louvre too crowded, Bryson goes to the Pompidou Center determined to like it and fails: it is weathered, too big for its cramped neighbourhood, and badly designed inside, with nowhere to sit or meet. It becomes his case against architects who forget that cities are for people.
• Why it matters: The building is the target of one of the book’s sharpest set pieces on architecture.