Renzo Piano

In a way I spend my entire life stealing from everything - from the past, from cities I love, from where I grew up - grabbing things, taking not only from architecture but from Italy, art, writing, poetry, music.

The difference between a builder and an architect is that an architect also cares about desire, about dreams.

In some way, people believe that if you are permeable, if you are a good listener, you don't have the quality of somebody with a firm attitude. This is what, fundamentally, I got from my mother.

Architects have to dream. We have to search for our Atlantises, to be explorers, adventurers, and yet to build responsibly and well.

I don't remember a single thing in my childhood that was not related in some way to building.

I think people should try to teach young children that these qualities - stubbornness and a capacity to listen - might look like they are opposites, but they are not.

I don't want to be romantic, but one of the most important things is to have happy buildings... it's like having a family with a lot of children.

Every year I spend one month just sailing, but I still work when I'm on the boat. You never separate work from leisure. A boat is like a magic world, like a little island.

Enjoying art is a personal matter. It's made up by contemplation, silence, abstraction.