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Renzo Piano
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Definition
Italian architect (born 1937), co-designer of the Centre Pompidou and winner of the 1998 Pritzker Prize. Piano is known for meticulous craftsmanship, light-filled interiors, and buildings that engage sensitively with their urban or natural contexts. His firm RPBW works across museums, housing, and infrastructure.
Example
The Shard in London (2012), designed with Sellar Property Group, is Piano's most visible UK work — an 87-storey glass tower whose jagged, tapering form was inspired by the spires and masts of historic London.