As an emerging talent at age 34, a then - unknown Renzo Piano landed a commission to
design the new Centre Pompidou in Paris, beating scores of
prestigious firms across Europe and the U.S.
Designed with Richard Rogers (one half of the now - defunct studio Piano and Rogers) and completed in 1977, the inside - out structure exposes its
interior infrastructure, with color - coded vents, pipes, steel girding, and a massive escalator that scales the building facade.