ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Renzo Piano: Building Good Architecture Is a Civic Gesture

architecture-design · 2026-05-05

In a video interview with Marc-Christoph Wagner of the Louisiana Museum of Copenhagen, Renzo Piano (born 1937 in Pegli, Italy) warns young architects against the trap of nostalgia and over-focusing on origins, which can stifle innovation. The Genoese architect cites the Mediterranean Sea as a major inspiration, describing it as a "consommé of many different cultures." He states that architects do not change history but bear witness to historical changes and give form to them, adding that building a good edifice is a civic gesture and a gesture of peace.

Key facts

  • Renzo Piano was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner of the Louisiana Museum of Copenhagen.
  • Piano was born in Pegli, Italy, in 1937.
  • He warns young architects against the trap of nostalgia.
  • He describes the Mediterranean Sea as a 'consommé of many different cultures.'
  • Piano states architects do not change history but bear witness to it.
  • He calls building a good edifice a civic gesture and a gesture of peace.
  • The interview is a video produced by Artribune.
  • The interview was published in 2018.

Entities

Artists

  • Renzo Piano

Institutions

  • Louisiana Museum of Copenhagen
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Pegli
  • Italy
  • Genoa
  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Copenhagen
  • Denmark

Sources