Bowellism

Bowellism is a modern style of architecture heavily associated with Richard Rogers.

The premise is that the services for the building, such as ducts, sewage pipes and lifts, are located on the exterior to maximise space in the interior. The style originated with Michael Webb's 1957 student project for a Furniture Manufacturers Association building in High Wycombe. Webb coined the term in response to a comment on his design by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner in a 1961 lecture, in which he recalled hearing the words: "within the schools there are some disturbing trends; I saw the other day a design for a building that looked like a series of stomachs sitting on a plate. Or bowels, connected by bits of bristle". Thus this inside-out style was termed 'Bowellism' because of how it recalled the way the human body works.

Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano continued the style with the design of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, described as a "vast exercise in Bowellism", so the floor space of the interior could be maximised to fully appreciate the exhibitions.

Pompidou Centre, Paris

Lloyd's building, London

Rotterdam Library, Rotterdam

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