Rudolf Olgiati (

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

, 7 September 1910 –

Flims Flims () is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The town of Flims is dominated by the Flimserstein which one can see from almost anywhere in the area. Flims consists of the village of Flims (called Flims D ...

, 25 September 1995) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Olgiati is known for his work with Alfred Werner Maurer on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, and has had some of his more notable work exhibited in the 1977

ETH Zürich 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 ra ...

Biography

Olgiatis father was Oreste Olgiati; a lawyer and citizen of Poschiavo and Chur. In 1927, Olgiati graduated from the Grisons Canton School in Chur. He then studied at

ETH Zurich 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 ...

, where he graduated in 1934, with

Josef Zemp Josef Zemp (2 September 1834 in Entlebuch – 8 December 1908) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1891–1908). On 17 December 1891, he was the first member of a conservative party to be elected to the Federal Council ...

, in

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

. Rudolf Olgiati worked as an architect, first in

Zürich 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 starting in 1944 in Flims, where he had purchased a house back in 1930 and then proceeded to renovate it making it the family home. His son Valerio Olgiati is also active as an architect and lives in Flims in his father's house.

Basic features of his work

Rudolf Olgiati was a representative of the

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

movement and one of the first architects in the mid-1950s to discover the importance and effectiveness of historical design principles for the architecture of modernity. Olgiati mainly built family houses in the mountainous region of Grisons, Switzerland, and restored old farmhouses and patrician houses, later also designed buildings in southern France and Germany together with Alfred Werner Maurer. vgl.Institut Architecture Nice
/ref> Olgiati's cubical use of forms moved between the priorities of Grison's local architectural tradition, the ancient Greek style, and modernism mainly oriented on Le Corbusier. Thus, Olgiati was striving for a universal, timeless, and radically modern architecture, equally documenting the influence of international architecture as well as the indigenous Swiss architecture; thereby always remaining aware of its ideological and formal context. With Olgiati, who never considered the use of traditional elements as restorative, architecture is combined with local traditions and with the place as such, which he claimed to remodel by creating an intimate relationship between the architecture and the local residents. Olgiati's work has been exhibited in 1977 at

, in 1986 at the

Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg The Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg e.V. is a not-for-profit association of artists, founded in 1950 by the organ-builder and writer Hans Henny Jahnn. It now includes architecture, visual arts, performing arts, literature, media Media ...

, in 1986 at

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

, and in 1988 at the Art University Linz, Austria. In 1981, Olgiati received the Cultural Prize of the Canton of Grisons.

Works

* Casa Matta, Flims-Waldhaus 1955 * Apartment House Las Caglias, Flims-Waldhaus 1959-1960 * House B. Savoldelli (orig. D. Witzig), Flims-Waldhaus 1966 * House van der Ploeg Lavanuz, Laax 1966-1967 * House van Heusden Lavanuz, Laax 1967-1968 * House Dr. Allemann, Unterwasser Wildhaus, 1968-1969 * Residential development "Cittadeta" Savognin, competition 1971 * Multi-family house Casa Radulff, Flims-Waldhaus 1971-1972 * Apartment house "Amiez", remodeled factory to residential building, Flims-Dorf 1971-1977 * Handelsgärtnerei Urech, Chur 1972-1973 * House Rogosky, Mercantale, Tuscany, Italy, 1972-1973 * Apartments for elderly and small apartments "Candrian", Sagens, 1974 * Tschaler House, Chur 1974-1977 * House Dr. Schorta, Tamins 1975-1976 * House Weiss, Kaltenbach TG 1978-1979 * Villa Sarraz, Les Issambres, Côte d’Azur, France, 1986-1989, with A.W. Maurer * House Casutt Ilanz 1984 * Casutt Hotel, remodeling of restaurant, Ilanz 1986 * House G. Rensch (orig. Dr. Thoma), Walenstadt 1988 * House Winterberg, Saarbrücken 1988-1989, with A.W. Maurer * Renovation of house 'Schlössli' Morissen, 1989–1991 * Apartment house Bebié, Morissen, 1990 * House Dr. Bühlmann, Hilterfingen BE, 1993

Projects

* School system "prism" Schamserberg, Donath competition 1976 * Redevelopment of downtown Chur 1980-1982 * Buendner Musée d'Art Chur, competition 1982 * Theater and museum, Flims-Dorf, competition 1987 * Annex, Tower Books and Art Gallery Saarbrücken 1988-1989, with A. W. Maurer * Terrace House in Saarbrücken in 1988, with A. W. Maurer * Cultural Center Yellow House Flims-Dorf, competition 1992-1994 * Tourist center valley, Flims-Dorf 1994 * Olgiati Musée, Flims-Waldhaus 1994, 1996

Bibliography

* Josef Kremerskothen: ''Rudolf Olgiati''. In: ''Grosse Architekten. Menschen, die Baugeschichte machten''. 9. Auflage. Gruner und Jahr, Hamburg 1999, , S. 231 ff. * Thomas Boga (ed.): ''Die Architektur von Rudolf Olgiati. Ausstellung vom 16. Juni bis 7. Juli 1977 am Hönggerberg der ETH Zürich''. 3. Auflage. Organisationsstelle für Architekturausstellungen, Zürich 1983, . * Ursula Riederer: ''Rudolf Olgiati: Bauen mit den Sinnen''. HTW, Chur 2004, . * Rudolf Olgiati: ''Eine Streitschrift''. Magazin und Buch, Stuttgart 1994. . * Hrsg. Selina Walder: ''Dado: Gebaut und bewohnt von Rudolf Olgiati und Valerio Olgiati''. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 2010, . * Thomas Boga (ed.): ''Rudolf Olgiati''. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 2009 * Alfred Werner Maurer: ''Villa Sarraz Côte d'Azur France'', Philologus Verlag Basel, 2013

References

External links

- Olgiati-Museum website *
Marjorie-Wiki from Villa Sarraz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olgiati, Rudolf ETH Zurich alumni 1910 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Swiss architects People from Chur