Renzo Piano: the builder alternate of Superman

“Architecture is art.” But what is architecture? At the core of one’s design philosophy lies the belief in architecture as a social and environmental endeavour, emphasising the importance of creating buildings that not only serve the public but the world itself. It is more than likely you are unable to identify this hindsight figure, but you surely have or will stumble upon one of his genius buildings. Ladies and gentlemen, Renzo Piano.
“You can put down a bad book; you can avoid listening to bad music; but you cannot miss the ugly tower block opposite your house.” Renzo Piano was born into a family of builders and was fascinated by edifices. He put on his gleaming yellow helmet and eventually landed in France to blueprint a complex system: the controversial Centre Georges Pompidou. He intended it to look like an alien abduction, mixing in cultures from the world and the final draft left new French settlers feeling welcomed and warm, though the build itself somewhat resembles a plumbing system. His first major project was the Menil Collection; Renzo Piano focused on levitation. Furthermore, Renzo Piano favours technology and sustainability alike, owing to the nickname of “HumanTechie”. Surprisingly for one who relishes modernism, one of his most iconic buildings is made almost entirely of pure timber: the Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre.
The Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre is named after a former independence movement leader: Jean Marie Tjibaou. He had a dream of gaining rights and a cultural centre for his people. He was unable to establish his vision, even as a death wish. Renzo Piano, out of his own empathy and sympathy, thus dedicated the centre to the Kanak people and Jean Marie especially in New Caledonia. The centre comprises 3 villages, the final recounting Jean Marie’s life and his fight for rights. The structures are made of timber resistant to bug bites, fungi, and mould. The Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre also uses a variety of features such as energy harvested from sunlight which is used for natural ventilation(heating and air). When the wind turns severe, the wood will enclose the pod looking buildings, keeping it toasty inside. The wind also offers a voice and sound to the village which evokes the spirits of the Kanak people. Another mastermind of Piano is curiously shaped like glass: the Shard.




Shooting into the heavens, the Shard is the tallest building in all of Western Europe, leveraging 11,000 glass panes. The Shard is a vertical city in which people work, live, and relax as Renzo Piano wanted the building to attract the globe. The other London buildings become infected with ghosts outside the work hours. The building includes a 5 star hotel, 7 restaurants boasting British to Chinese food, decks reserved for enjoying the 360 degrees of London, and features insulation and recycling techniques. The building’s materials are also 50% recycled. The first guest was a fox that was spotted huddled in the Shard. The fox, Romeo, was stranded, too terrified to make a sly leap into the air. Romeo was later captured and released into the wild, trotting down the streets after a quick glance of the Shard. Unfortunately, for driving enthusiasts, there is no public parking. Millions flood the Shard and therefore if there was a parking space, chaos would ensue as cars filled with impatient citizens would block all lanes.
Renzo Piano’s iconic buildings are dotted around the world, from the Shard to the Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre and thus is a laureate of the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is phenomenal, continuing to inspire and influence normal but unique citizens to pursue their architectural dreams. “This is the way cities become more beautiful cities, and this is why it is so important to me. In my job you need to be different things at a time: a builder in the morning, a poet at lunchtime and a humanist in the afternoon. It is one of the oldest and most adventurous things you can do. I can't think of a better way to spend my time every day.”
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