“ A piazza is not a plaza. The plaza is the theme park of the piazza the plaza is the commercial version. A piazza is an empty space with no function. This is what Europeans understand. Renzo Piano
“ You have to accept as an architect to be exposed to criticism. Architecture should not rely on full harmony. Renzo Piano
“ Enjoying art is a personal matter. It's made up by contemplation, silence, abstraction. Renzo Piano
“ London is one of the most civilised places in the world for the procedure of making architecture and urban design. Renzo Piano
“ When you design a building, you start from a general philosophy, and you come down, and you start from detail and come up. Only the theoretical architect believes that you can make the concept and the… Renzo Piano
“ I came to architecture from building. Because my father was a builder, everybody was - and is - a builder in my family. Renzo Piano
“ There is something about giving everything to your profession. In Italian, an obsession is not necessarily negative. It's the art of putting all your energy into one thing; it's the art of transformin… Renzo Piano
“ In architecture you should live for 150 years, because you have to learn in the first 75 years. Renzo Piano
“ Architecture is a very dangerous job. If a writer makes a bad book, eh, people don't read it. But if you make bad architecture, you impose ugliness on a place for a hundred years. Renzo Piano
“ In some way, people believe that if you are permeable, if you are a good listener, you don't have the quality of somebody with a firm attitude. This is what, fundamentally, I got from my mother. Renzo Piano
“ Every year I spend one month just sailing, but I still work when I'm on the boat. You never separate work from leisure. A boat is like a magic world, like a little island. Renzo Piano
“ I don't want to be romantic, but one of the most important things is to have happy buildings... it's like having a family with a lot of children. Renzo Piano
“ In a way I spend my entire life stealing from everything - from the past, from cities I love, from where I grew up - grabbing things, taking not only from architecture but from Italy, art, writing, po… Renzo Piano
“ As an architect, you have to provide a shelter to enjoy art. And you have to love art. It's like when you make a concert hall. You must love music. This is the reason why you make the space, to enjoy… Renzo Piano
