What is "bowellism"

Bowellism is a modern style of architecture associated with Richard Rogers. The Pompidou Centre in Paris (1977) by Rogers and Renzo Piano has been called a "vast exercise in Bowellism". Based on the rationale that the greatest amount of floor space possible should be allowed for the interior so as to maximize space to appreciate the exhibitions, everything from the lifts to the sewage pipes was made visible on the outside of the structure. This inside-out style was termed 'Bowellism' because it recalled the way the human body works. However, 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 gristle".