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La mthode
Piano
EXHIBITION
PRESS RELEASE
Press Contacts
Claudine Colin Communication
Patricia Lachance 0033 (0)1 42 72 60 01 - 0033 (0)6 85 90 39 69
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Cover
Poster Renzo Piano Building Workshop, 2009-2015
Michel Denanc. Graphic design: gr20paris
RENZO
PIANO
RPBW - Renzo BUILDING
Piano WORKSHOP
Building Workshop LA MTHODE PIANO
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
La mthode
SUMMARY
A method without discourse
by Francis Rambert p.4
Prehistory/Early works p.6
Piano
Landscapes p.8
Confrontations p.12
Urbans heritage p.16
Heights p.22
Pieces of the city p.26
Materials p.32
Press images p.36
Credits & thanks p.42
Partners p.44
Pratical informations p.48 EXHIBITION
PRESS RELEASE
A method
without discourse
Using the green felt-tip pen that he is never with- every project whatever its scale, from a cultural
out, Renzo Piano sketches, drafts, annotates, and foundation nestling at the heart of a Haussmannian
works up his projects, mapping out their future block in Paris, to a new university campus in
direction. Whilst intuition might be his guide, it is Manhattans grid, via a contemporary city gate
exploration that has always been his motivation, made in stone, for Valletta, city of the Knights of
like a navigator seeking new horizons. Thus begins Malta.
an unparalleled piece of teamwork. Because for This method has repeatedly proven itself.
Piano, the singular is plural. No theorising, but a collective practice, with nei-
Born in Genoa, a port city with a global out- ther discourse nor protocol. Pianos method, in
look, Piano today works on every continent. The search of a constructive truth, takes an approach
son of a builder, he grew up in the world of con- to the profession that breaks with the idea of the
struction. Fascinated by Jean Prouv, whose lec- artists gesture, the dazzling stroke that carries
tures he attended early in his career, drawn to everything. Architects, engineers, consultants
Louis Kahn, in whose office he worked for a time and of course the client, are fully involved with the
before returning to Europe, Piano was particularly design process, a process that is the opposite of
interested in experimentation beginning with top down and that promotes lateral thinking.
lightweight structures in the early 1960s investi- Preferring practical knowledge to conceptu-
gating technology, space, and the city. al ideas, Piano and his team work less with materi-
From the outset, Renzo Piano who cele- ality than with materials (most recently rammed
brates 50 years of practice this year has never earth in Uganda), they enjoy putting things togeth-
worked alone, preferring to engage in a critical dia- er Pianos trademark. They research and test
logue with like-minded individuals, in an exchange ideas using models and prototypes, where preci-
of views on the hypothesis. Following early col- sion is the solution to complexity. Hundreds of
laboration with his brother Ermanno, an engineer, models are made in their street-front workshop in
the real starting point was teaming up with Richard Paris and at the slightly more hidden office at
Rogers, winning this ItalianBritish team the inter- Punta Nave, just outside Genoa. Multiple versions
national competition for the Pompidou Centre in enable us to understand how the pieces will work
Paris in 1971. Things continued with Peter Rice a with each other, explains Piano.
poet of structures; their complicity was as excep- Pianos method is also about the pedagogy
tional as it was irreplaceable. Finally, and quite log- of a project. This workshop-exhibition takes a jour-
ically, came the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, ney through RPBWs recent projects via a series of
established in 1981. very detailed work tables that invite the visitor to
If Piano himself is the heart of this adventure immerse themselves in each project, its genesis
and there is a genuine taste for adventure in and its specific logic. Whose idea was it, actually?
every project working as a team is the key. Held No one can remember, and it is not important. It is
together by a great mixing of cultures (Japanese, the intelligence of the built project that counts.
Swiss, Lebanese, Dutch, German, French, Italian),
the office, which today comprises 150 people, is
distinctive for its method; all the partners, many
of whom have been there for 25 years, have grown
up with the office. Theirs is a participative method Francis Rambert, Co-curator
that pays no heed to fashion, and that they apply to Director of the French Institute of architecture
14 & 15 California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA, 2000- 2008, RPBW California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA, 2000-2008, RPBW
Ph: Tim Griffith RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects
59. The Shard London Bridge Tower, London, UK, 2000-2012, RPBW
Ph: Chris Martin
RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects
60. Sketch of Renzo Piano, The Shard, London, UK, 2000-2012, RPBW
RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects
52. Le Albere, area and MUSE, Interior view of the science museum,
Trento, Italy, 2002-in progress, RPBW
Ph: Hufton+Crow
RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects
2 4
4 5
1 3 5
9 11
6 7 8 10
12 16 18 20
13 14 15 17 19 21
23 25 27
22 24 26 28
30 33
29 31 32 34
35 37 39
36 38
41 44
5
40 42 43 45
47 48
46
49 53 55
50 51 52 54
56 57
58
61 62 63
59 60 64
1 2
Texts
Authors: Anna Foppiano and
Lorenzo Ciccarelli, Renzo Piano
Building Workshop and Francis
Rambert
Translations: Annabel Gray,
Miranda Westwood, Geraldine
Jamin, Lexling and Richard Sadleir
Editing: Martine Colombet,
responsable ditoriale (Ifa),
Claire Gausse
Interviews
The interviews have been
conducted by Francis Rambert
Transcript: Anne Appathurai and
Jean-Pierre Pinco
(media solution)
Renzo Piano was born in Genoa in 1937 into a Bernard Plattner was born in Bern, Switzerland, Born in 1960, Antoine Chaaya studied
family of builders. in 1946. He studied architecture at ETH in Zrich architecture at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
While studying at Politecnico of Milan University, and started working with Piano & Rogers on the (USEK) in Lebanon and after graduating joined
he worked in the office of Franco Albini. Pompidou Center. Since then, he has continued the Paris office in 1987. He worked as lead
In 1971, he set up the Piano & Rogers office to work with Renzo Piano in the Paris office. architect on a variety of projects including the
in London together with Richard Rogers, with He became a Partner in 1989. A sampling of his Kanak Cultural Center in New Caledonia and the
whom he won the competition for the Centre notable projects includes: the Rue de Meaux Potsdamer Platz project in Berlin.
Pompidou. He subsequently moved to Paris. Housing in Paris, the Beyeler Foundation Museum Since becoming a Partner in 1997, he has been
From the early 1970s to the 1990s, he worked in Basel, the reconstruction of the Potsdamer responsible for many projects including the
with the engineer Peter Rice, sharing the Atelier Platz area in Berlin, the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern Il Sole 24 Ore headquarters in Milan and the
Piano & Rice from 1977 to 1981. and the New York Times Building. He also oversaw Los Angeles County Museum of Art expansion.
In 1981, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop the construction of the Path Foundation in Paris. Current projects include three academic buildings
was established, with 150 staff and offices in He is now responsible for a number of large scale for Columbia University, a residential project in
Paris, Genoa, and New York. projects in Europe including the new Courthouse Miami and a mixed-use development in Beirut.
He has received numerous awards and in Paris, a mixed-use development in Vienna and He has lectured in Lebanon and in the USA,
recognitions among which: the Royal Gold Medal the Float office building in Dsseldorf. including talks at Columbia Universitys Graduate
at the RIBA in London (1989), the Kyoto Prize in School of Architecture. He was also recently
Kyoto, Japan (1990), the Goodwill Ambassador Mark Carroll an invited participant in The Museum as,
of UNESCO (1994), the Praemium Imperiale in Partner, Director an international symposium organized by
Tokyo, Japan (1995), the Pritzker Architecture the Sursock Museum in Beirut.
Prize at the White House in Washington (1998),
the Leone doro alla Carriera in Venice (2000), Philippe Goubet
the Gold Medal AIA in Washington (2008) Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1956, Mark Partner, Director
and the Sonning Prize in Copenhagen (2009). Carroll received both his Bachelor of Sciences in
Since 2004 he has also been working for the Architecture and his Master of Architecture from
Renzo Piano Foundation, a non-profit the Clemson University, South Carolina.
organization dedicated to the promotion of the He received his Laurea in Architettura from the Born in France in 1964, Philippe Goubet studied
architectural profession through educational University of Genoa in 1983. He joined the Genoa business administration at HEC in Paris.
programs and educational activities. The new office in 1981 working initially on the Menil He joined RPBW in 1989, working in Genoa as
headquarters was established in Punta Nave Collection in Houston. As a project director, he was a controller. From 1988 to 1992, he also spent
(Genoa), in June 2008. subsequently involved in many projects including a lot of his time in Japan, supervising the Osaka
In September 2013 Renzo Piano was appointed the Aquarium in Genoa and the Fiat Lingotto offices day-to-day business.
senator for life by the Italian President Giorgio factory conversion in Turin. Since becoming a In 1995, he moved to RPBWs Paris office and
Napolitano and in May 2014 he received the partner in 1992, he has overseen a broad range became a Partner. He is currently the Managing
Columbia University Honorary Degree. of projects including the Cy Twombly Pavilion in Director of the three offices.
Houston, Aurora Place in Sydney, the High Museum
expansion in Atlanta, the new California Academy
of Sciences in San Francisco, the Harvard Arts
Museums in Cambridge, the expansion of the
Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and the new
Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
He has also contributed to the design of several
significant masterplanning projects including the
Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta and the ex-Falk
areas in Milan. He is currently working on the new
headquarters for JNBY in Hangzhou, China,
the Centro Botn in Santander and the Academy
Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
He has been a visiting critic at many universities
in Italy, Switzerland as well as in the USA. He also
lectures widely. In 2013 he received theArchitecture
Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater.
Joost Moolhuijzen was born in Amstelveen, in Born in 1968, Elisabetta Trezzani studied Born in 1957, Giorgio Bianchi studied
the Netherlands, in 1960. He studied architecture architecture at the Politecnico in Milan, architecture in Genoa. He joined RPBW in 1985
at the Delft University of Technology and after graduating in 1994. She joined RPBW in Genoa in and was based in Genoa until 1994, working on
graduating worked in London with Michael 1998 working initially on the design of the Aurora most of the major projects of that time including
Squire from 1987 to 1990. He joined RPBWs Paris Place Buildings in Sydney. She was subsequently the re-development of Genoa Old Harbour. In
office in 1990, working on a number of important involved in the design and construction of the 1995, he moved to RPBWs Paris office to work on
projects including the Cit Internationale addition to the High Museum in Atlanta, where the design of the Stage Theater am Potsdamer
development in Lyon. He subsequently worked she ran the site office until the projects Platz in Berlin.
as lead architect on the Potsdamer Platz project completion in 2005. Since becoming a partner in 1997, he has been
in Berlin. On returning to Genoa, she was made an responsible for numerous projects including the
Since becoming a Partner in 1997, Joost has Associate and a Partner in 2011. Together with rehabilitation of Center Pompidou in Paris, the
overseen a wide range of projects including the Mark Carroll, she led the teams working on the Morgan Library expansion in New York and an
Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and new Whitney Museum of American Art in New important private residential building in
the masterplan for Columbia Universitys York and the Harvard Art Museums in Colorado. He has worked on the design of all
Manhattanville development. He was the partner Cambridge. She also worked on the RPBW RPBW exhibitions since 2000. He is currently
in charge, from inception to completion, of the exhibitions in Rome, Atlanta, Milan and New leading the team working on the Stavros
Shard in London, completed in 2012. He is now York. She is currently working on the SoHo Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens
responsible for the Fubon Tower in Taipei and a residential tower project in New York and the and the Kum & Go headquarters in Des Moines.
mixed-use residential project in London. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los He has been invited to lecture at many
Angeles. universities including Milan Politecnico and
Antonio Belvedere Columbia Universitys Graduate School of
Partner, Director Giorgio Grandi Architecture.
Partner
Emanuela Baglietto
Partner
Born in 1969, Antonio Belvedere graduated in
architecture from the University of Florence. Born in 1957, Giorgio Grandi studied at the Genoa
He joined RPBWs Paris office in 1999, working School of Architecture and joined RPBWs Genoa
on phase two of the Fiat Lingotto factory office in 1984. He worked as lead architect on Born in 1960, Emanuela Baglietto studied at the
conversion project, particularly on the design various projects including the re-development Genoa School of Architecture and joined RPBWs
of the Polytechnic and the Pinacoteca Agnelli. of the Genoa Harbour for the 1992 Colombus Genoa office in 1988. She worked as lead
He was subsequently lead architect on the International Exposition. architect on numerous projects and
masterplan for Columbia Universitys He became a partner in 1992 and was responsible competitions including the Credito Industriale
Manhattanville development in New York. for some of the most significant projects in Italy Sardo headquarters in Cagliari.
Following promotion to Associate in 2004, including the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in She became a partner in 1997. She has been
he worked on the masterplan for the ex-Falck Foggia, the Banca Popolare di Lodi headquarters responsible for many built projects in Europe and
area in Milan. He became a Partner in 2011. and the Pirelli Factory in Turin. Current projects in the USA, including the Mercedes-Benz Design
Recently completed projects include the Valletta include the masterplan for the ex-Falck area in Center in Stuttgart, the Nasher Sculpture Center
City Gate in Malta. He is now leading the design Milan, a childrens hospice in Bologna and in Dallas, the expansion of the Isabella Stewart
of the Bishop Ranch project in California, residential buildings in Lisbon. Gardner Museum in Boston and the Astrup
a Performing Arts Center in India and most Fearnley Museum in Oslo. Recent projects
recently, a cultural project in Russia. include the design of the Centro Botn in
He has also lectured widely, in France and Italy. Santander. She is now in charge of a major
residential project in Sydney.
Presse contacts
Claudine Colin Communication
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Fabien Tison Le Roux
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