Dome

West elevation, the restaurant, from the west; The museum now holds one of the finest collections of 20th-century art in the world. The centre also functions as a showcase for all the creative arts, and there is an ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions. The building is ostentatiously modern, particularly in contrast to the historic buildings which surround it. Built between 1971 and 1977 to the designs of Renzo Piano (1937-) and Richard Rogers (1933- ), the service ducts and escalators are placed on the exterior of the building and brightly colour-coded to reveal their functions; thus the interior is singularly adaptable, having no fixed internal walls. The building is now a major tourist attraction, visited by more people than the Eiffel Tower. However, it has been criticized as unsuitable for displaying paintings and, more damagingly, for the durability of the exterior which has weathered badly. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 11/4/2007)