The Centre was built by GTM and completed in 1977. The building cost 993 million 1972 French francs. Renovation work conducted from October 1996 to January 2000 was completed on a budget of 576 million 1999 francs.

The architectural project, under the rules of competition, had to meet the criteria of interdisciplinarity, freedom of movement and flow, and an open approach to exhibition areas. Winning the competiition were two young architects: the Italian Renzo Piano and British design couple Richard Rogers and Su Rogers who proposed a constraint-free architecture in the spirit of the 1960s. Also on the team awarded this project were Gianfranco Franchini, British structural engineer Edmund Happel (who later found Buro Happel) and Irish structural engineer Peter Rice.

The supporting structure and movement and flow systems, such as the escalators, were relegated to the outside of the building, thereby freeing up interior space for museum and activity areas. Attached to the building's west façade are colour-coded ducts that are a sort of wrapping for the structure: blue for air, green for fluids, yellow for electricity cables and red for movement and flow.

The transparency of the west main façade allows people to see what is going on inside the centre from the piazza, a vast esplanade that the architects conceived of as an area of continuity, linking the city and the centre. With some seven million visitors per year, the Centre Pompidou quickly fell victim to the unexpected scale of its success as the structure aged prematurely and had to close in October 1997 for 27 months. During this time 70,000 m² were renovated and 8,000 m² added, mainly to display collections. This was possible by relocating the offices outside the centre. When it reopened on 1 January 2000, the centre was an immediate, overwhelming public success again, testifying to the public's inseparable attachment to the site and its spirit.