Renzo Piano was born in Genoa in 1937 into a family of builders.
While studying at Politecnico of Milan University, he worked in the office of Franco Albini. In 1971, he set up the Piano & Rogers office in London together with Richard Rogers RA, with whom he won the competition for the Centre Pompidou. He subsequently moved to Paris.
From the early 1970s to the 1990s, he worked with the engineer Peter Rice, sharing the Atelier Piano & Rice from 1977 to 1981. In 1981, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop was established, with 150 staff and offices in Paris and Genoa.
Since 2004 he has also been working for the Renzo Piano Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of the architectural profession through educational programs and educational activities. The new headquarters was established in Punta Nave (Genoa), in June 2008.
In September 2013 Renzo Piano was appointed senator for life by the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and in May 2014 he received the Columbia University Honorary Degree.
Honorary RA
Born: 1937 in Genoa, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Elected Hon RA: 31 May 2007
Gender: Male
Visit Renzo Piano Hon RA (b. 1937)'s website
Preferred media: Architecture
The Menil Collection, Houston
Terminal for Kansai International Airport, Osaka
Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia
Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
Morgan Library, New York
Maison Hermès, Tokyo
New York Times headquarters, New York
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
London Bridge Tower (The Shard), London
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
2009 Sonning Prize, Copenhagen
2008 Gold Medal AIA, Washington
2000 Leone d’oro alla Carriera, Venice
1998 Pritzker Architecture Prize at the White House, Washington
1995 Praemium Imperiale in Tokyo, Japan
1994 Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO
1990 Kyoto Prize in Kyoto, Japan
1989 Royal Gold Medal at the RIBA, London
2015 Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Piece by Piece – Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China
The Making of Valletta City Gate - Parliament of Malta, Republic Street, Valletta, Malta
Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Progetti d’Acqua – Museo Navale, Genova Pegli, Italy
2014 Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Pezzo per Pezzo – Palazzo della Ragione, Padua, Italy
2013 Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Fragments – Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA
2007 Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Le città visibili, Triennale di Milano
2006 On tour with Renzo Piano and Building Workshop: Selected Projects, The Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, USA
Zentrum Paul Klee – La Galerie d’Architecture, Paris, France
2005 On tour with Renzo Piano and Building Workshop: Selected Projects, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles, USA
Celebrate Architecture! Renzo Piano and Building Workshop, High Museum of Arts, Anne Cox Chambers Wing – Atlanta (GA), USA
2004 Renzo Piano & The Building Workshop, Porta Siberia, Porto Antico area, Genoa, Italy
2003 Renzo Piano: The Architect’s Studio, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002 Architettura e Musica, sette cantieri per la musica : dall’Ircam di Parigi all’Auditorium di Roma, Auditorium - Parco della Musica , Rome, Italy
2000 Renzo Piano: un regard construit, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Renzo Piano: Architekturen des Lebens, Neue National Galerie, Berlin, Germany