Renzo piano

When it opens in the heart of Los Angeles, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be the world’s premier movie museum. Situated on the famed “Miracle Mile,” the museum will preserve and breathe new life into the former 1939 May Company department store, now re-named the Saban Building. Celebrating its history and imagining new possibilities, the additions to the building that date from 1946 have been removed and replaced with a spherical building that features the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the Dolby Family Terrace with views towards Hollywood. The revitalized campus will feature more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space, two theaters, cutting-... More

Art factory The relationship between the industrial and the poetic   An atypical building stands out in the "Colombia" neighborhood, a central area of ​​Bogota. It is the sculpture studio of the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, one of the most important figures in the world of contemporary art. Salcedo requested a place where she could conceive, produce, catalog and document her works of art. Within its requirements was to achieve the maximum useful space and to be able to carry out more than one work at a time with total independence.   The challenge was to de-hierarchize the spaces so that simultaneous activities could be carried out. Only in this way could the necessary flexibility be generated, to go from the industrial to... More

We are seduced by steel structures, particularly the eloquence and precision of their assembly and presence. That explicit condition of drawing the efforts as they decant in the tectonicity of the building…as in the works of Foster, Rogers, Renzo Piano you immediately have the certainty that Newton lives ... so far away from the mannerist approaches of the parametric trend of some currant architecture. The issue of context is no less important, there is always eloquent immediate information about the environment that guides us towards an architecture integrated with the context in terms of its own identity, where design decisions consolidate the character of the place. Here in Palermo Viejo, it is the insinuation of one more passage... More

ContextThe Orchid Pavilion is located in the heart of Oaxaca, Mexico within the walls of the Church and former monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzman (constructed 1572-1666) – now the Botanical Gardens of Santo Domingo. The Pavilion sits within one of the most biologically diverse ecologies in the world and as part of an ensemble of cultural experiences. Beyond the physical site, the Pavilion is located in a part of Mexico with a unique building tradition, labor force, and construction expertise that would be integrated into the design. The project was funded by a mix of public and private support and, as a result, required a phased design approach.   The project also sits within the context of FGP’s broader body of work th... More

This house is located in one of Houston’s last intact, nineteenth-century, working-class neighborhoods—the Near Northside—about one mile north of downtown. While perhaps not conventionally attractive, the Near Northside’s collection of well-used Queen Anne and Folk Victorian worker’s cottages offers lessons on how old buildings can be adapted to new uses and increased density instead of simply being replaced. We took this ethos of economy into consideration for the design of a new house on a lot that had always been vacant and approached it as a prototype for future infill houses in this rapidly gentrifying urban area.   At the front of the house is a detached 500 sf building that serves as our architect... More

Casa Tiziano is an apartment of about 210 square meters in the Flaminio district of Rome. It is located on the fourth floor of a 1960s building, which due to its special design, has been listed as a building of considerable architectural interest by the local authorities.   Prior to the current renovation, the apartment was oppressive by a previous remodeling that probably occurred in the 1980s.  Many walls had been covered with dark wood paneling, which made the rooms dark and lacking in light.   Upon entering the apartment, the initial view is that of a wide corridor, which remained in its place after the remodeling.  The heavy door at the end of the corridor, separating it from the living room, has been removed an... More

The lesson develops through the biography of the two founders of the studio, Massimo Alvisi and Junko Kirimoto, two different and at the same time complementary paths. On the one hand, the experiences of Kunko Kirimoto at the University of Kyoto, straddling both art and architecture, and with world-famous japanese architects such as Shin Takamatsu and Kazuyo Sejima, up to her arrival to Italy and the collaboration with Massimiliano Fuksas. On the other hand, Massimo Alvisi with his education at the Faculty of Architecture in Florence, and the collaborations with Thomas Herzog and Renzo Piano. With the latter, architect Alvisi has worked side by side for eight years for important construction sites such as that of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin... More

565 Broome SoHo is located in one of New York’s most historic neighborhoods - Soho. Overhanging the Hudson River, the residential tower offers to its occupants an outstanding panoramic view on the city and on the river. This project is in line with the district’s spirit, being historically a center for arts, but also more recently for restaurants, shops, hotels and local businesses.   For SoHo, a district so closely identified with 19th and 20th century cast-iron architecture, 565 Broome SoHo introduces an elegant 21st century inflection onto that neighborhood.   The 30-storey structure soars above its lower-slung surroundings, providing sweeping views of the city and of the Hudson River, including the sunsets that... More

The Nemo Science Museum opened its doors in 1997 with a new building in the center of Amsterdam. The building was designed by Renzo Piano and is a popular attraction for children. The recent extension “De Studio” on the Marineterrein is a laboratory for interactive exhibitions and programs. The new part of the Science Museum also appeals to adults.“The Studio” is housed on an adjacent old military complex. In 2016, bureau SLA realized the transformation of one of the former naval education buildings for innovative startups. For the Science Museum, bureau SLA designed a facade of residual material from the automotive industry.The facade consists of two layers of so called contour plates. The cut shapes are used as parts for new cars. What re... More

CONTEXTIn the heart of Paris, this ambitious project takes up two large city blocks contiguous with the strategic position between Haussmannian Paris and 21st-century Paris of the Clichy-Batignolles eco-district, for which it serves as the bridgehead. A particular feature of this new district is its generous open urban spaces: the Square des Batignolles, the train tracks and the Parc Martin Luther King. This new development is in fact located at the juncture of beautiful Haussmannian buildings aligned around Square des Batignolles and the new Parc Martin Luther King, bordered here and there by 17-story buildings and dominated by the tallest object on the skyline, the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance (high court of justice) designed by Renz... More

The Krause Gateway Center is situated in the Western Gateway of downtown Des Moines and to the north of the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. In recent years the Western Gateway has been undergoing a rebirth of urban development and the Krause Gateway Center is the latest edition to the dynamic transformation. The building includes the new Kum & Go corporate headquarters as well as offices for the other companies within the Krause Group.Since the beginning in 1959, Kum & Go stores have been proudly serving and employing the people of Iowa and have grown to do so in many of the surrounding states as well. In nearly 60 years of business the stores and brand have come to play an important role in the communities which they serve and the inhere... More

GN Chapel follows an important tradition on Brazilian architecture: the construction of religious buildings on private residences. During the colonial period (especially sec XVIII and XIX), over the influence of Portuguese architecture, most of the farms had its own private chapel. The farms and surrounding cities were part of an important economic system based on the culture of coffee, one of the pilars of Brazilian economy by that period. The existence of such peculiar architectural buildings were a landmark that they boosted an artistic style that was once very remarkable and important for Brazil. To this artistic style was given the name of Barroque, most well known being the one developed in Minas Gerais. However, in the present d... More

The KPN building at the beginning of Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam was designed by Renzo Piano. It was the talk of the town upon completion in 1999, but by 2016 it had ceased to meet the user’s needs. With Piano’s consent, an extensive redevelopment by V8 was planned to breathe new life into the building. At ground level there is a huge entrance with public functions and business facilities; the tower has been converted from a traditional office building into a flexible and up-to-the-minute workplace. In its new incarnation the building has reconnected with the neighbourhood and the city and is set to act as a catalyst of public life on the pier.   In 2016 KPN decided to shift its head office functions from The Hague to the KPN Tower on Wilhe... More