There are two things that I will particularly remember about Renzo Piano in conversation with Razia Iqbal last night:  one was the sense of a tall, incredibly well preserved architect with a passionate interest in the craft of building (his father ran a Genoese construction firm) reflecting intermittently on the history of architecture – the democratic forces which led to the construction of the piazza which occupied helf the public space of the Centre Pompidou and the origins of the piazza in the idea of civitas;  the other was the incredible pleasure with which he greeted the award of his diploma, more than ten years after he was made an Hon. RA.