Courageous architecture: technological expression in Paris as a cultural provocateur

This paper will examine representations of technology in three notable examples of Parisian architecture: the Tour Eiffel (1889), the Centre Pompidou (1977) and the Musée du Quai Branly (2006). In exploring technological expression in the built environment of Paris, it considers the cultural context within which the buildings were conceived and the cultural confusion they have generated; the social values they reflect or challenge; and the ways in which they confirm or contest ideas of national identity. It is primarily concerned with the impact of the architecture rather than exposure to the collections inside.