Mario Botta

Residence in Cadenazzo, at Cadenazzo, Switzerland, 1970 to 1971.

School in Morbio Inferiore, at Morbio Inferiore, Switzerland, 1972 to 1977.

SFMOMA, at San Francisco, California, 1995.

      map of works

(b. Mendrisio, Switzerland 1943)

Born in Mendrisio, Switzerland in 1943, Botta trained as a technical draftsman before he studied at the Liceo Artistico in Milan. From 1965 to 1969 he studied at the Istituto Universitario di Architecttura in Venice. During this same period he worked as an assistant to Le Corbusier and, then, to Louis I. Kahn. He opened his own practice in Lugano, Switzerland in 1970.

Essentially Modernist in approach, Mario Botta has been strongly influenced by both Carlo Scarpa and Louis Kahn. Although his later works increasingly accept existing forms and styles as the starting point of design, Botta still adheres to a philosophy of historical determinism in which architecture acts as a mirror of its times.

Botta's works characteristically show respect for topographical conditions and regional sensibilities and his designs generally emphasize craftsmanship and geometric order. Because he attempts to reconcile traditional architectural symbolism with the aesthetic rules of the Modern Movement, Botta is often identified with the Italian neo-rationalist group, the Tendenaz.

Botta built exclusively in Switzerland during his early career, gaining international acclaim for such buildings as the Capuchin convent in Lugano, the Craft Centre in Balerna and the Administration Building for the Staatsbank in Fribourg. Since the second half of the 1970s, his houses have become more classical in plan and elevation, and in the 1980's he has secured international commissions such as the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, California

References
Dennis Sharp. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. New York: Quatro Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0-8230-2539-X. NA40.I45. p27.

Robert A. M. Stern. Modern Classicism. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1988. ISBN 0-8478-0848-3. NA682.C55. p126.

Mario Botta
Via Ciani 16
CH 6904 Lugano
Switzerland
vox 091/972 86 25
fax 091/970 14 54
email: mba@botta.ch

"How Botta Builds", by Debra Moffitt, ArchitectureWeek No. 301, 2006.0830, pC1.1.

Philip Jodidio, Caroline Keller (Editor), Christiane Wagner (Editor). Mario Botta (Big Series). TASCHEN America Llc. (December 1999). ISBN 3822866121. — Available at Amazon.com

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