Centre Pompidou-Metz

 [images via the Guardian]

I was waiting all spring for the opening of the Centre Pompidou-Metz so I could be timely and post some photos on May 12. And then, of course, I forgot all about it. So here you have it (a little belatedly).

The new outpost of the famed Paris gallery is located in the north-western French region of Lorraine and was designed by architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines. According to the Gaurdian, "It has been variously compared to a Smurfs' house [I totally see it], a magic lantern and a Chinese hat."

The structure is expected to attract around 200,000 visitors per year to the city of Metz, and hopes are high that it will at least begin to revive the economically depressed Lorraine region.