Renzo Piano rose to international prominence with his co-design of the Pompidou Center in Paris, described by The New York Times as a building that “turned the architecture world upside down.” Since then, he has continued to craft such iconic cultural spaces as the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and, most recently, the Whitney Museum of American Art, an asymmetric nine-story structure in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District with both indoor and outdoor galleries. In London, the Piano touch has also transformed the skyline with the London Shard, the tallest building in the European Union.

At the age of 80, the Italian maestro retains all of his enthusiasm and kindness—and his recent roster is more impressive than ever. As he confided in the author, “I think at a certain age, one can discover that there is what the French call the ‘fil rouge,’ a kind of red thread that relates one building to another over time. In my case, I believe it is about lightness and the art of building.” From freshly built museums in Athens and Santander; ongoing works in Los Angeles, Moscow, Beirut, and Istanbul; to such humanitarian interventions as the Emergency Children’s Surgery Center in Entebbe, Uganda, and the Children’s Hospice in Bologna, Italy, Piano’s career is a thrilling journey through the beauty and very essence of architecture.

This XXL-sized Art Edition, jam-packed with more than 200 new pages illustrated by photographs, sketches, and plans, spans Piano’s entire career to date and the many existences of his singular aesthetic. Limited to 200 signed copies, this monograph is accompanied by an original sketch, signed and drawn exclusively for TASCHEN, and is packaged in one of Piano’s very own custom-built wooden cases.

Art Edition (No. 1–200) with a print of a sketch of the Menil Collection Foundation in Houston, Texas, signed by Renzo Piano and drawn exclusively for TASCHEN. The book and artwork come in a custom-built wooden crate designed by Piano, as those used by his workshop to ship 3-D miniature building models.