“Centre Pompidou-Metz” was planned as an annex for the Centre Pompidou Paris. The complex includes an art museum and theatre. By locating a large roof in the park and by opening the glass shutter facade around the perimeter, a continuous transition between the interior and exterior space is created. The form of the roof is inspired by a Chinese bamboo-woven hat. The roof is made from laminated wood in a hexagonal and triangular woven pattern, the triangular shape increases the rigidity of the overall structure. In order to simplify the intersection of the wooden elements, joints are only formed through the overlapping of elements in two directions. The large wooden roof is covered in a Teflon-coated fiberglass membrane that allows soft natural light to filter into the interior. At the end of each tube a picture window looks over the landscape to the cathedral, the station and other monuments of the city, with the ‘woven hat’ unifying the gallery with the city. The high ceiling space created under the large roof and gallery tubes, is to be a space where large scale art can be exhibited, which could not be exhibited in the Centre Pompidou Paris considering its current design condition.
