Architecture is an art form of practicality, consistency, and beauty. Finding a way to innovate while still matching the style of the area is a tough task. Many buildings opt to mark a new path instead of conforming. One of these buildings is the Centre Pompidou, in Paris, France. 

The building was made to look transparent. Open ducts, electricity, and various other inner workings make it an inside-out innovation. What inspired this design? Watches that show off their guts. A once surprising but now common innovation, something that can be applied across so many different industries.

And applied it has been. Even beyond the Centre Pompidou, one very famous shoe has utilized this same principle. Nike Air Max Ones, following in the Centre Pompidou’s footsteps, showed off a bit of its inside. The air bubble exterior is not just aesthetic but is quite literally a practical part of the shoe.

It’s a design so basic and simple in shoe design that it’s everywhere today. Managing to be both easy and practical makes it an incredibly tempting option. Although the Air Max Ones are incredibly popular, the Centre Pompidou was initially critiqued. Its outsides show clashed with the area, and it took awhile for people to truly see the beauty within it. Inside out designs are risky, but they show that any one idea can become so many different things.

A Gift That Inspired History