Piano founded his firm, Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), in 1974. RPBW is known for its focus on engineering and its ability to create a specific quality of light within a structure, especially through use of innovative solar shading.

RPBW has created a wide range of notable designs, including the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Chicago Art Institute, Centre Georges Pompidou (with Richard Rogers) in Paris, Potzdamer Platz in Berlin, and the airport and artificial island of Kansai Airport in Osaka.

Piano won a Royal Gold Medal from R.I.B.A. in 1989, the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1998, and a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 2008. http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com