Gustav Gull (December 7, 1858 – June 10, 1942) was a Swiss architect. He designed the

Swiss National Museum The Swiss National Museum () is a museum in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, adjacent to Central Station and the '' Platzspitz'' park. It is part of the ''Musée Suisse Group'', which is itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture ...

for which marked a breakthrough in his architectural career.

Life

Gull was born on 7 December 1858, in

Altstetten Altstetten may refer to: *Altstetten, Erdweg, Bavaria, Germany *Altstetten, Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany *Altstetten (Zürich), Canton of Zürich, Switzerland {{Geodis ...

, to Rudolf Gottlieb and Anna Gull (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Fries). He studied architecture at the

Polytechnic of Zürich A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

attended courses at the École des Arts Décoratifs in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

from 1879 to 1880. This was followed by an internship with Benjamin Recordon in Lausanne until 1882. After a trip to Italy (1883–1884), he first entered into a partnership with Conrad von Muralt, with whom he built the main post office in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, the Lavater schoolhouse in Zurich, among other things. In 1890, he received the first commission from the city of Zurich to draw up a plan for a Swiss National Museum. From 1895 to 1900, he was a master builder in Zurich, then he worked as professor of architecture at the

Zurich Polytechnic ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

until 1929. Gull died on 10 June 1942, aged 83, in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, and is buried in Zürich.

Career

He designed the main post office of

. With a few exceptions, his buildings are concentrated in Zürich. He designed the

, and was involved in the construction of the ''Urania'' complex in Zürich that comprises Amtshaus I-IV at the

Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (''"Tilia, linden yard"'') is a moraine hill and public square in the historic center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Switzerland in the Roman era, Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has histor ...

, as well as the

Stadthaus Zürich Stadthaus is a nine-storey residential building in Hackney, London, completed in 2009. With nine stories (30 meters/98 feet), it was considered the second tallest timber residential building made of wood in the world at the time of its construc ...

Münsterhof Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof hill, Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest town square within the Altstadt (old town) of Zurich and i ...

Urania Sternwarte Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zurich, Switzerland. Its name ''Urania'' refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology. It features a restaurant (main building) and a bar with panoramic view (tower). ...

, and

Waisenhaus Zürich The Waisenhaus (), or Amthaus I, is the last remaining building of the Oetenbach nunnery in Zurich, Switzerland, and today houses the city police department. Location The ''Waisenhaus'' building is situated at Bahnhofquai 3 near Bahnhofbrüc ...

at Lindenhof hill, and the tower of

Predigerkirche Zürich Predigerkirche is one of the four main churches of the old town of Zürich, Switzerland, besides Fraumünster, Grossmünster and St. Peter. First built in 1231 AD as a Romanesque church of the then Dominican ''Predigerkloster'', the Basilica wa ...

that was built after Gull's plans by Friedrich Wehrli. Another of Gull's buildings is the Zurich Stadthaus, for whose construction the northern part of the Kratzquartier and the Fraumünster monastery were demolished; Gull integrated the rest of the cloister into the inner courtyard of the Stadthaus.

References

Portrate of Gustav Gull in the ETH-Librairy

External links

1858 births 1942 deaths ETH Zurich alumni Architects from Zurich Academic staff of ETH Zurich {{Switzerland-architect-stub