Past Exhibitions>
Mario Botta was born in Mendrisio, Ticino, on April 1, 1943. After an apprenticeship in Lugano, he first attended the Art College in Milan and then studied at the University Institute of Architecture in Venice. Directed by Carlo Scarpa and Giuseppe Mazzariol he received his professional degree in 1969. While studying in Venice, he had the opportunity to meet and work for Le Corbusier and Louis I. Kahn.
Botta’s professional career began in 1970 in Lugano. Known for his single-family houses in Ticino, his work encompasses many other building types including schools, banks, administration buildings, libraries, museums and sacred buildings. Since the beginning of his career, Botta’s work has been recognized internationally and honored with prestigious awards.
Along his work he teaches extensively in giving lectures, seminars and courses in architectural schools in Europe, Asia, North- and South America. He served as visiting professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne in 1976, and at the Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, USA in 1987 and since 1983 he is entitled professor of the Swiss Polytechnic Schools. From 1982 to 1987 he was a member of the Swiss federal commission of fine arts. In 1996, he became one of the founders of the Academy of architecture of the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Mendrisio (Switzerland). Today he continues to teach there as a Professor and he held the directorship in 2002-2003 and 2011-2013.