Born in 1937 in Italy into a family of builders, Renzo Piano has grown to be widely recognized as one of the most influential architects of his time for his innovative and technologically advanced designs. After graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1964, he began his career working on experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters, before co-founding the architecture firm Piano & Rogers with British architect Richard Rogers. Together, the two friends designed one of Piano’s most emblematic works, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which was a radical departure from traditional museum design and helped establish Piano’s reputation as a visionary architect. Over the following decades, he continued to push boundaries with his work, designing a wide range of projects, including The Shard tower in London, the Kansai International Airport in Japan, the École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, the New York Times Building in New York, the Istanbul Modern Museum, the Pathé Palace in Paris, among others. In 1998, Piano was awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of architecture.” He has also received numerous other accolades, including the RIBA Gold Medal, the Kyoto Prize, and the AIA Gold Medal.
