Following the first short essays dedicated to the Genoese architect Renzo Piano printed many years ago, Electa Publishing House presents a valuable work edited by Francesco Dal Co, an influential and well-known critic.
As a great expert on Piano’s work, Dal Co explains the projects of the major contemporary Italian architect who is committed to honour architecture more than any other architect thus skilfully contributing to its value. Each chapter of this book deals with a work while Dal Co leads the reader in a full-detailed and passionate journey on the most relevant architectures accomplished by Renzo Piano all over the world: from the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1971-77) to Menill Collection in Houston (1982-87), from the Fondation Beyeler Museum in Basel (1991-97) to the Niccolò Paganini auditorium in Parma (1997-2001), from the refurbishment and enlargement of the Morgan Library (2000-06) to the New York Times skyscraper (2000-07), to Chicago’s Art Institute (2000-09) and the enlarged Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth (2013) just opened. Most of the pictures from his personal collection, sketches, construction drawings, snapshots of the construction site and photos of the completed projects included in this volume are unpublished. The essay makes an excellent complement to the exhibition “Renzo Piano Building Workshop – Records” that will open its doors next March at the “Palazzo della Ragione” in Padova. Pictures, models, and prototypes ensure an unmissable event both for field specialists and architecture fans.