This summer, outside of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the museum’s famous forecourt area will be the site of a timely skatepark activation by local artist Raphaël Zarka. 

His new Cycloïde Piazza installation is meant to connect young Parisian skate enthusiasts and forms a key part of the Cultural Olympiad preceding this year's games, as presented by Centre Pompidou curator Jean-Max Colard. 

Harkening to the experimentations of Galileo and other astronomers and mathematicians as its primary reference, the centerpiece skateable "sculpture" was designed in unison with the architect Jean-Benoît Vétillard to carry several references to France's rich art history and architectural culture.

A polychromatic color palette quotes Le Corbusier's "Clavier de couleurs" keyboard cards from 1931. Constructivism and the works of painters such as Lyubov Popova also hold weight over the installation's presentation, helping it to serve as an "urban agora" where programmable space commingles with Zarka's research into the binding elements of movement, shape, and form. 

"The word 'Piazza' suggests a change of scale: My sculpture was designed as a space, an area within an area, a piazza on a piazza," the artist explained.

Several great activations have already taken place, including a special parkour demonstration. The installation will continue standing as the catalyst for public gatherings and a celebration of both sport and the city as a social condenser until the end of the Olympic games.

This is the fourth in Zarka's series of skateboarding-themed public art projects that began in New York City in 2011. The Nike-sponsored installation will remain on view through September 15th. 

The Centre Pompidou will be undergoing renovations until 2030, while the Summer Olympics return to Paris (with the games' second skateboard competition) beginning this Friday, July 26th, with an opening ceremony along the Seine.