Renzo Piano was born in Genoa (Italy) on September 14, 1937. He graduated in 1964 from the school of Architecture of the Milan Polytechnic. As a student, he was working under the design guidance of Franco Albini, while also regularly attending his father's building sites where he got a valuable practical experience. Between 1965 and 1970, he completed his formation and work experiments with study travels in Britain and America. It was at that time he met Jean Prouvé: their friendship would have a deep influence on his professional life. In 1971, he founded the "Piano & Rogers" agency with Richard Rogers, his partner on the Centre Pompidou project in Paris. In 1977, he founded "l'Atelier Piano & Rice" along with the engineer Peter Rice, a professional personality who would work with him on many projects, until his death in 1993. He then founded Renzo Piano Building Workshop, with offices in Paris and Genoa. Some 100 people work with him (among which architects, engineers, specialists) in close collaboration with some associated architects, linked to him by years of experience.
In 1998 Piano was the recipient of The Pritzker Architecture Prize, In 2000, he recieved the following distinctions: Officier, Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris, France, Leone d'Oro for the career, Venice, Italy , Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, Helsinki, Finland, Premio Leonardo, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, Italy
Source: Renzo Piano official website