France's Pompidou Center: A Case for User Evaluation *

Abstract

This paper is concerned specifically with the attitudinal values held by employee–users toward the interior physical settings of the recently completed Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou in Paris. It identifies the ten major aspects of the interior physical environment which, according to the employees interviewed, have contributed in diminishing human performance and in creating a feeling of antipathy towards the Center. The paper also attempts to analyze the underlying causes which have allowed this antipathy to arise by examining the organizational structure responsible for bringing the Center into existence. It places the responsibility for the present levels of employee dissatisfaction directly on the organizational arrangement. Finally, the paper recommends a thorough post–evaluation study be undertaken to determine the full extent of the dissatisfaction so that remedial action can possibly be initiated.