He graduated in architecture at the University Institute of Architecture in Venice and, during his post-graduate studies at the "Superior Restoration Course" in Rome, he began to establish himself in the field of architecture and industrial design.

He participated in solo and group exhibitions. In 1975 he collaborated with the Institute of History and Architecture in Venice and with the Akademie für Angewandten Kunst in Vienna on the creation of a major exhibition on Vienna in the socialist period. In the 1980s he designed the Kuwait embassy in Qatar and devoted himself to various architectural projects, as well as setting up. In 1983 he was invited to a series of conferences at the P.D.C. of Los Angeles and deals with the competition of ideas for the renovation of the Lingotto Fiat in Turin. In 1985 he planned the restructuring of the C.Jourdan headquarters in Paris.

In 1986 he planned the renovation of Palazzo Remer in Venice. In 1987 he was nominated for the XIII Compasso d'Oro Award. In 1988 he became associate professor at the Akademie für Angewandten Kunst in Vienna where he became full professor in 1991. In the field of industrial design he has collaborated with many prestigious companies in Europe and in the USA. Paolo Piva passed away in July 2017.