Renzo Piano

“His work demonstrates the complete range of architectural concerns. It is sculptural, beautiful, technically accomplished and sustainable. He integrates the diverse disciplines that combine in contemporary building into cohesive, humane environments.” Thus read the juror Thomas Howorth, president of the committee that awarded the medal of the American Institute of Architects to Renzo Piano. The proposal of the Genoese architect for the Pompidou Center of Paris, designed with Richard Rogers, was the springboard to a successful career with works all around the world: from the Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia (1998), Kansai Airport in Japan (1994) or the Auditorium Park of the Music in Rome (2002). In the last years Piano has also completed several projects in the United States: the renovation and extension of the Morgan Library in New York (2006), the New York Times building in Manhattan (2007), the Chigaco Art Institute extension and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco (2008), a transparent volume with a wavy and landscaped roof that is a bold manifesto on sustainability.