The PI (Placement and Interconnect) System is a developmental technique for establishing custom VLSI chips. Designed and developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the mid-1980s, it is the first system to automate the entire layout process. VLSI Placement and Routing: The PI Project provides a complete, concise, and up-to-date account of the PI Project. In addition to describing the generic PI System, this book also presents extensions to the PI System considered by the PI team and implementations of the PI System. Also of special interest are several open research questions motivated by PI. The book includes an extensive list of references to the literature on VLSI in general and the PI Project in particular.