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The building structure is very distinctive: it has been described by critics as "an oil refineryAn oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into useful petroleum products. Raw or unprocessed ("crude") oil is not very useful in the form it comes in out of the ground. It needs to be broken down into parts an in the centre of the city". The coloured external piping is the special feature of the building. Air conditioningNote: in the broadest sense, "air conditioning" can refer to any form of " heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. This article is specifically about the use of refrigeration for this purpose. The first album of the pop group Curved Air was Airconditi ducts are blue, water pipecopper water pipes used in a radiator heating system. Water pipes are tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride or copper, that carry pressurized fresh water to buildings. For many centuries, lead was the favored material for water pipes, due to its mas are green and electricityElectricity is a property of certain subatomic particles, such as electrons and protons, that gives rise to attractive and repulsive forces between them. It is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, and is a conserved property of matter that can be lines are yellow. EscalatorWestminster tube station, London An escalator is a conveyor transport device to transport people, consisting of a staircase whose steps move up or down on tracks which keep them horizontal. Most escalators also have moving handrails which approximately kes are red. White ducts are ventilation shafts for the underground areas. Even the steel beams that make up the Pompidou Centre's framework are on the outside.
The intention of the architects was to place the various service elements (electricity, water etc.) outside of the building's framework and therefore turn the building "inside out". The arrangement also allows an uncluttered internal space for the dispay of art works.
The Centre is named after Georges Pompidou, who was president of France from 1969 to 1974, and was opened on January 31, 1977.
Organisationally it is linked to IRCAM.
The Place Georges Pomidou in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street act s such as mimes and jugglers.
Public transport: metro Rambuteau, Les Halles, RER Chatelet-les-Halles.