MARIO BOTTA

his biography

MARIO BOTTA

Mario Botta was born in Mendrisio on April 1, 1943. He attended primary school at
Genestrerio and secondary school at Mendrisio. At age 15, Mario Botta quit school and
became a draftsman in the architectural studio of Carloni and Camenish in Lugano,
Switzerland.
In 1961, Mario Botta left the Carloni and Camenish office to attend art college in Milan,
Italy. After graduation, Mario Botta journeyed to Venice to enroll at the "most sophisticated
and least technical of the Italian architectural schools," the Instituto Universitario di
Architettura (IUA). Mario Botta remained in Venice from 1964 to 1969; during those years,
Mario Botta was able to make contact with three giants of the architectural world Le
Corbusier (1965), Louis Kahn (1969) and Carlo Scarpa who was one of his teachers and his
thesis professor. He opened his own practice in Lugano, Switzerland in 1970.
Mario Botta's career has spanned more than two busy decades; in addition to his practice,
Mario Botta has served as a visiting professor at the Ecole Polytechnic Federale in
Lausanne, Switzerland, for the past ten years. In 1982, Mario Botta was made a member of
the Commission Federale Svizzera delle Belle Arti, and in 1983, became an honorary fellow
of the Bund Deutscher Architeckten (BDA). The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
conferred honorary fellowship upon Mario Botta in 1984. Today, Mario Botta continues his
active lecturing in Europe. North America, and Latin America.

His philosophy.

MARIO BOTTA

His designs tend to include a strong sense of geometry, often being based on very

simple shapes, yet creating unique volumes of space.

His ideas were influenced by Le Corbusier, Louis I. Kahn, Carlo Scarpa.
His works characteristically show respect for topographical conditions and regional
sensibilities.
He still adheres to a philosophy of historical determinism in which architecture acts as
a mirror of its times.
I believe that today making architecture is a way of resisting the loss of identity, a way of resisting
the banalization, the flattening of culture brought about by the consumerism so typical of modern
society. In this sense, architecture is more an ethical than an aesthetic phenomenon." Mario botta
His material is masonry, not glass or steel, and he uses it to create buildings that are
firm, self-assured essays in geometry.
He is more concerned with interacting with nature and the landscape rather than
technology and mechanization.
"Every architectural work has its own environment...The first action involved in doing architecture is
the consideration of its territory".
His designs are modernist in approach.
Marked by the extraordinary use of natural light, his works feature skylights and
generous heights that create expansive interiors, while strong block-like forms and
contrasting materials result in powerful facades.

His work

MARIO BOTTA
San fransisco museum of modern art, california

It opened in 1935 under founding director Dr. Grace Morley (Grace L.

McCann Morley, Director from 19351958) as the San Francisco Museum
of Art, the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20thcentury art. For its first sixty years, the museum occupied upper floors of
the War Memorial Veterans Building in the Civic Center .Under director
Henry T. Hopkins (19741986) the museum added "Modern" to its title in
1975, and established an international reputation.
In a major transformation and expansion, in 1995 the museum moved to
its current location, 151 Third Street , adjacent to Yerba Buena Gardens
in the SOMA district and its iconic architectural showpiece facility
designed by Mario Botta. Inviting comparison to the preeminent Museum
of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City ,the museum re-branded itself
"SFMOMA".

MARIO BOTTA

His work

This monumental building was Swiss architect Mario Botta's

first commission in the United States. Like many of his
buildings, it illustrates his interest in the circle and the
square. The structure is comprised of stepped-back boxes and
a truncated striped cylindrical tower.

BOTTA

His work

Textured brickwork is a trademark of Botta's style. Here the

brickwork patterns differ on each of the stepped facades. Botta also
avoids conventional windows (except at the entrance). Here a
window strip slices through the cylinder and moves down to the
lower facade.

BOTTA

His work..

The zebra stripes of gray and black granite, so prominent in the

tower, are repeated at the sides of the entrance and in the entrance
columns and piers.

MARIO BOTTA
His work..

The atrium
Galleries are grouped around this central open space. At its highest
point a steel bridge crosses the atrium.

The building is flooded with natural light and offers generous open
spaces. The full-height central atrium court illuminated by the skylit
cylinder and crossed by a steel skybridge is a key feature of the
interior space. In addition, the skylit roofs offer generous natural
light to many galleries.

His work.

Brilliant architectural detail of Mario Botta, The Granite Stairs are reflected
by the bronze pattern in the ceiling. The walls, with alternating strips of
polished and rough marble produce a beautiful modulating pattern of light
and reflection.

Bottas building for SFMOMA derives its power from many sources: the
masterly orchestration of pure geometric form on a grand scale, the
integration of plain materials such as brick and sheetrock with the richer
textures of stone and marble, and the subtle workings of light in elegant,
well-proportioned galleries. From the exterior, the signature element is the
truncated, zebra-striped cylinder that rises out of the red brick base. This
turret is topped with a sloped glass skylight, creating a glowing lantern at
night and providing daylight into the heart of the building by day.

MARIO BOTTA

His work

The symmetry is unyielding, the axes are never violated; it is in

essence a symmetrical donut. The public space of the atrium is the
donut hole, and the monumental stairs make clear how to move
between levels. The donut itself is four floors of gallery space, all
above the main floor. After making a circuit on a floor, one is
conveniently returned to the atrium and the monumental stair, ready
to move to another level.

MARIO BOTTA
HIS WORKS..

Residence in riva san vitale, ticino, switzerland

Residence in cadenazzo, switzerland
School in morbio inferiore, switzerland
Municipal and state library
S. Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist), Mogno,

Switzerland
Casa Rotonda - Haus Medici
Santa Maria degli Angeli Chapel, Monte Tamaro, Switzerland
Cardada Cableway, Ticino, Switzerland
Museum Tinguely Solitude Park, Basel, Switzerland
Bus Terminal, Lugano, Switzerland
United bank of switzerland, basel, switzerland