Jeremy.Lay_ARCH1390-2010: August 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Architect - Renzo Piano

Renzo Piano was born in Genoa (Italy) on September 14, 1937, he studied in 1957 at Polytechnico Milano School of Architecture, taught by Franco Albini & graduated in 1964.
As a student he was working under Franco Albini, while also regularly attending his father's buildings sites where he got valuable practical experience. Between 1965 and 1970, he completed his formation and wor experiments with study travels in Britain and America. It was then he met Richard Rogers in 1971 when he founded the "Piano and Rogers Agency", his partner on the Centre Pompiduo project in Paris. Renzo Piano then founded " I'Atelier Piano & Rice" with the engineer Peter Rice who would work with him on many projects till his death in 1992.

Renzo Piano grew up in an environment where building was a family occupation & was inspired by his family. His grandfather, father, 4 uncles and his brothers all worked in construction. After studying in Milan & working for his father, he travelled and gained valuable work experience with many influencial architects of the time. Renzo Piano then went to work in the office of Louis I Kahn in Philadelphia, USA & Z.S Makowsky in London,UK. Renzo Piano first major commission came in 1969 designing the Intalian Industrial Pavillion at the 1970 expo in Osaka which his brothers built and installed. Renzo Piano’s work is elegant and organic, many of his project are iconic including Aurora Place in Sydney, the auditorium parco della musica in rome and the shard london bridge skyscraper.
He then founded Renzo Piano Building Workshop with offices in Paris and Genoa, some 100 people work with him ( amoung which architects,engineers and specialists.) in close collaboration with some associated architects linked to him by years of experience.
Renzo Piano has won many awards in his career, here is a list of his awards.
- 1981 wins Compasso d’Oro Award in Milan
- 1985 awarded Legion d’Honneur in Paris
- 1989 awarded the royal gold medal of architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects
- 1990 awarded Koyoto prize in koyoto
- 1991 awarded the neutra prize in California
- 1998 awarded the pritzker architecture prize
2008 awarded the sonning prize (prestigious cultural awardm in denmark)

Sources:
www. rpbw.r.ui-pro.com
accessed 18/08/2010

http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Renzo_Piano.html
accessed 18/08/2010

Architectural Piece Two

Renzo Piano - Auditorium Parco Della Musica.

Parco Della Musica is composed of three seperate halls, Santa Cecilia which can seat 2,800 people, Sinopoli which can seat 1,200 people and the Petrassi which can seat 750 people. The
shape of the three halls were inspired by musical instruments. It not only has three halls but a theatre studio, studio 1,2,3 a foyer and a cavea (Latin term for seating round an amphitheater). Each of the three halls is different in size and has been constructed with the aim of satisfying the need of any musical genre.
The Santa Cecilia Hall can be used for large orchestral and symphonic concerts. The covering shell vaults, of exceptional sizes are made with frames of girders of glue laminated wood
combined with steel elements. Towards the middle of the stage is surrounded y the “vineyards” (which is seated places that rise like a valace around the stage.) The innovative concept is
that of the suspended ceiling, it is made with 26 shells of American cherry wood, each one has a 180 square metre surface. The pit and the galleries are veneered with wood in order to make a
harmonic chamber out of the hall guaranteeing excellent acoustic. The sinopoli hall, because of its greater acoustic flexibility it is more suitable for a great variety of musical genres. The hall
is mainly for symphonic music with or without a choir. The sinopoli hall’s main feature is its extremely flexible stage. The possibility of changing the size of the stage, of the choir, of the
orchestra and of the audience allows the sound reverberation tuning. This means that ballet, contemporary music concerts and other types of shows can be held there.
The petrassi is the smallest hall but is a real musical theatre, there is a pit for the orchestra and the stage is well equipped to allow for stage and dress changes. The two stage flank
walls can rotate by 90 degrees and has Italian made drop curtains which are for the opera and theatrical shows. By keeping the flank walls in the original position allows a so called
“open Scene” stage that can be used for chamber and symphonic music concerts as well as theatre performances and screen projections. The Petrassi hall has been assigned to contemporary music genres, theatre performances and cinema, this is because it has a in built system that allows both musical source and the audience to be shifted and the sound reverberation tuned.
The theatre studio can seat up to 350 people and is used as a multi functional space. The Cavea is the open air amphitheater at the centre of the auditorium which can hold up to 3,000
spectators. The cavea, named after the composer luciano berio, is the physical demonstration of the main concept behind the whole auditorium project, it acts as a open air amphitheater and
a square. The cavea has gradually become a meeting place, it is now part of the urban context and is used in everyday life as a normal city square.
Apart from the exclusive areas dedicated to music the auditorium also has spaces for conferences, debates, meetings with composers and musicians, research (there is a library and a listening room) and didatic purposes (vocal, musical and multimedia workshops). There is also a bar, bookstore and a restaurant where people may take a pleasant rest.

Sources:
www.auditorium.com
accessed 18/08/2010

www. rpbw.r.ui-pro.com
accessed 18/08/2010

Architectural Piece One

Renzo Paino.
California Academy of Science.

The new Academy rises on the same site of the former California Academy of Science in the Golden Gate Park. The design required the demolition of most the 11 existing buildings, built between 1916 and 1991. Its primary goal is to provide a modern facility for exhibition, education, conservation and research under one roof according to sustainable design strategies.
Natural ventilation instead of air conditioning for large parts of the building, carefully chosen building materials, an efficient use and re-use of water as well as the generation of energy are integral parts of the design. A green roof,landscape with native plant species, unifies the different functions. It undulates to accommodate the Academy's major components: the new planetarium, the rain forest exhibit and the Steinhart Aquarium entrance. In the centre of this "Living Roof" a glazed skylight covers the Piazza, while other smaller skylights allow natural light into the exhibit space and provide natural ventilation. The roof extends beyond the perimeter walls into glass canopy to provide shade,protect from the rain and generate energy through more than 55,000 photo voltaic cells in the glass. The material palette for the complex as a whole remains simple: limestone,architectural concrete,steel,aluminum and extra clear glass.

Sources:
Architectural Week Magazine ( No. 405. 12 November 2008) - http://www.architectureweek.com/2008/1112index.html
Accessed on 18/08/2010

Renzo Piano Building Workshop website - http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/
Accessed on 18/08/2010