Pi de Bruijn completed his studies at the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in 1967. He then left to work at the Architects Department of the then London City Council in Southwark, London. On his return to Amsterdam, he worked for the Municipal Housing Department, until he established himself as an independent architect in 1978, as a partner in the Oyevaar Van Gool De Bruijn Architecten BNA bureau.

In 1988 he founded de Architekten Cie. together with Frits van Dongen, Carel Weeber and Jan Dirk Peereboom Voller, and has been a partner ever since. He also served as a professor at the TU Delft from 1993 to 1998.

The first realized building by Pi de Bruijn, the Transvaal community centre in Amsterdam, won him the accolade of the Merckelbach Award. De Bruijn gained international renown as the architect of the new accommodation for the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament. His design for the Reichstag in Berlin won first prize in the first round, and he subsequently realized part of the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus. For the Beursplein shopping arcade in Rotterdam he received the Nederlandse Bouwprijs (the Dutch Building Award). He also designed the Essent headquarters in Den Bosch, the Zwitserleven offices in Amstelveen, and the extension and restoration of the Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam. In the role of supervisor and urban planner he was involved in the development of Amsterdam’s ArenA area and with the Amsterdam Zuidas (Southern Axis) development. As a supervisor he also oversaw the reconstruction of the firework disaster area in Enschede. Pi de Bruijn has a wealth of experience as an architect and urban planner in projects that are complex, long-term and sensitive.

Pi de Bruijn received the title of Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau and the King of Spain personally awarded him La Cruz de Oficial for his contribution to the profession.