Renzo Piano at the Royal Academy
Upon entering Regent Street in London, one might notice the carefully organised series of posters leading to the Royal Academy where an original display of works by Renzo Piano is currently open to the public (though not for much longer).
Situated in one of the beating hearts of the cultural capital, The Royal Academy of Arts, the exhibition takes the visitor on a journey though sixteen of the architect’s most celebrated projects. It begins with his pioneering debut “Le Centre Pompidou;” a collaboration with his dear friend Richard Rogers, through to “The Shard,” the most recent edition to London’s skyline.
The exhibition is organized in three spacious rooms where light floods through glazed openings in the ceiling to illuminate and gently compliment the hanging models and carefully placed drawings and sketches presented. A central dark room directs the viewer’s attention to a huge plywood model of an imaginary island as Thomas Riederscheimer’s movie plays in the background.
Piano’s work shows care, experimental boldness and a certain level of adventure; as he notes himself, architecture is constantly ‘defying the force of gravity.’
Throughout the years the architect has proven to defy not only gravity but society’s expectations for what an art gallery, museum or a hospital can be. His work revolves around experimentation, largely exploring the technologies of construction.
Though the scale, context, purpose of each project may vary, a few aspects are consistently evident in all of his work: a sensitive response to context in terms of physical surroundings and building techniques as well as particular refinement of component detailing. Renzo Piano’s first ever design project was a boat and to this day he has not lost the precise qualities of a craftsman.
From an airport longer than a mile, to a small gallery where the louvres are ‘flirting with light’ there is always a centrepiece to Piano’s work, making each project distinguishable and nonetheless successful.
His first major project after the Pompidou Centre reflects on the vernacular context, keeps the balance between the client’s desires of a ‘modest exterior and spacious interior’, yet still copes with the hot climate gracefully.
Time does not seem to lessen the impact of this building, which back in the 1970s was the pioneering project of both Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. Despite being largely controversial it also makes an impact on our perception of building services and underscores the connection between people and art.
Nearly a decade later a domestic scale gallery project in Houston, Texas enables the designer to embrace his potential. An exquisite example of how an environmental strategy is so well integrated within the design it becomes the most important aspect itself.
The climate in Houston, in this case, is transformed from a problem to a potential. The solution: 291 ferro-cement louvres hang from the ceiling. Serving 3 sole purposes: block direct sunlight, reflect and diffuse light into the gallery space and trap hot air as part of the environmental strategy, therefore helping control radiant heat.
The mastery of the workmanship, typical for RPBW is evident through the numerous mock–up models, aimed to test and refine. The leaves themselves are a creation of Windboats Marine, their manufacture using a sprayed-cement technique being an innovation without precedent.
Undoubtedly the most widely recognized and currently the tallest building in the European Union, The Shard, is a centrepiece of the exhibition.
The iconic 21st century addition to the London skyline is dominating even as it vanishes between the clouds. The appearance of the stylish skyscraper is in a constant state of flux as it reflects the movement of the sun and clouds upon its surface.
The innovative structure is a combination of steel and concrete. One of the models depicting the building is divided into three parts (as is the actual final construction), two of which hang from the ceiling.
An awful lot has been written about the Genoese Architect who, alongside his projects, has proven his significance throughout the years. As a few pages would not be enough to describe each project in the level of detail they all deserve, I highly recommend a visit to the Royal Academy.
I believe such visits are incredibly beneficial every now and then. They energise and remind us of the great virtues and the mission that the profession of architects holds, namely as Piano himself notes: ‘the art of making a place for people to come together and share values.’
Written by: Ekaterina Petkova