Paolo Piva

Born in Adria on March 13, 1950, he began studying at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Venice in 1968, focusing on visual research and participating in both solo and group exhibitions. In 1970, he contributed to the project for the WIG 74 competition on behalf of the city of Vienna and participated in the competition for the Resistance Monument in Modena. He attended the International University of Art in Venice and began working in industrial design. That same year, he was invited to the Internationale Malerwochen in Retzhof-Graz, Austria. In 1975, he collaborated with the Institute of History and Architecture in Venice and the Akademie für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna on a major exhibition about socialist-era Vienna. This research culminated in the 1980 exhibition Red Vienna, commissioned by the City of Rome. Together with Tafuri, he curated the exhibition catalog and coordinated the exhibition setup. In 1980, he was commissioned by Kuwait to design the Kuwaiti Embassy in Qatar and worked on various architectural projects in Italy. In 1981, he designed the interiors for several clothing store chains. In 1983, he was invited to a series of lectures at the P.D.C. in Los Angeles and worked on the conceptual competition for the renovation of the Lingotto FIAT in Turin. In 1985, he designed the renovation of the headquarters of C. Jourdan in Paris, followed by the renovation of Palazzo Remer in Venice in 1986. In 1987, he received a special mention at the XIII Compasso d’Oro Award. From 1988, he served as an associate professor at the Akademie für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, where he was appointed full professor in 1991.