Botta
was 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 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.
Selected
Works:
House in Riva San Vitale, Ticino, Switzerland 1972-1973
House in Stabio, Switzerland 1980
Wateri-um Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1985-1990
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California 1989/90-1995
Church of St. John the Baptist, Mogno, Ticino, Switzerland
1986-1996
Chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Monte Tamaro, Ticino,
Switzerland 1990-1996
