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Contents: 1: Introduction 2: Background/Ideology 3.Project Examples 4. Methodology 5: Case Study St. John The Baptist Church Mogno 6: Critique 7: Slide Presentation.

Introduction: Mario Botta is an architect who is very difficult to define in his ideology and approach. Originally lauded as a genius of Postmodernism in his early works, he has turned his back on this style describing it as "global Disneyland-architecture". He has been strongly linked with the Italian Neo Rationalist group the Tendenaz, who turned to the complexity of the urban realm and sought to understand the way architectural forms responded to changes in historical events in an attempt to reconcile traditional architectural symbolism with the aesthetic rules of the Modern Movement. To risk pigeonholing Botta would be to describe him as a neo-realist in his approach as a kind of Postmodernist Classicist who invents his own orders.

Bottas spiritual and philosophical beliefs strongly influence his life not just his architecture. He has always committed himself to architectural research and since 1996 he has been involved as creator and founder of the new academy of architecture in Ticino Switzerland. His work has achieved international renown and many important awards. Awards Include: •

Merit Award for Excellence in Design by the AIA for the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco,

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The IAA Annual Prix 2005, International Academy of Architecture, Sofia Bulgaria for the Kyobo Tower,

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The International Architecture Award, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and

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The “European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra”, The Hague (The Netherlands)for the restructuring of the Theatre alla Scala in Milan) and been presented in many exhibitions

Some of his most famous works are Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco , USA 1989-1995

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The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center, Tel Aviv, Israel 1996-1998

Swisscom Building Bellinzona, switzerland 1988-1999

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1. Background /Ideology Born in Mendrisio, Ticino, on 1st April, 1943. Mario Botta left school at the age of 15 to apprentice with the architectural firm of Carloni and Camenisch in Lugano, Switzerland. In 1964 he passed his final exams at the School for the

Arts. Figure 1 In the autumn of that year, he had begun attending courses at the Architectural school of the university of Venice. During his time in Venice a professor arranged for Botta to enter a studio that had been created by Le Corbusier in Venice, on what was to be his final project, the Venice Hospital 1964-65. Their encounter would have been brief as Le Corbusier drowned on August 27, 1965. In 1969, Botta met several people who would have had a significant impact on his work, these were Louis Kahn, Carlo Scarpa and Giuseppe Mazzariol. After apprenticing with Louis I. Kahn he began to develop his own style impressing Kahn by inventing his own orders, ditching the forms of old such as the Dorics, Corinthian and opting for a layering of colours, textures, materials, and elements from contrasting historical styles.

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Ideology Bottas ideology could be briefly summarised under the following headings, •

The importance of the site

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Purity of Geometric Volumes

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Design to elevate and benefit society

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A need for a point of reference for a transitional space and the importance of natural light and its relationship with the cycle of the seasons and time.

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Historical determinism in which architecture acts as a mirror of its times.

The importance of the site

"To build is a sacred act, an action that transforms a condition of nature into a condition of culture (1) Architecture to Botta is not only to lay stone on the ground, it is to take possession of space and transform a site. Bottas works characteristically shows respect for local conditions as a great deal of his research spent on a project is in the study of the topography of a site. He believes his works should not detract from or deny the importance of a place.

Design to elevate and benefit society

"I think architecture is a civil duty that relates to mankind, a social duty that concerns society and an ethical duty, as architecture can represent values related to the way we live".(2) Botta states that architecture must always be moral in its approach, as creating architecture means transforming a place and should be considered a privilege, and with privilege must carry certain responsibilities to its surrounds and the population that inhabits it. This belief could be linked to the ideas of the Tendenaz who also believed that architecture must possess a democratic spirit, with emphasis on the value of ordinary people and people must always be considered when building as they don’t like having the familiar replaced.

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As well as the Tendenaz this idea could also be strongly associated with Le Corbusier who believed that architecture was for the benefit of mankind as expressed in his book of essays L'Esprit Nouveau or “Towards a new Architecture”, that advocated the use of modern industrial techniques and strategies to transform society into a more efficient environment with a higher standard of living on all socio economic levels.

Purity of Geometric Volumes In Bottas work, using primary geometric volumes usually, cylinders or cubes characterize his forms. Botta uses form as a medium to give shape for the basis of his architecture. Bottas volumes aim to not always rely on external references for their meaning, rather, in some instances his forms can be symbolic rather than entering into a direct dialogue with its context. This idea could be attributed to Le Corbusiers belief that primary geometrical forms can best express an idea. Le Corbusiers ideology was heavily influenced by right angles using the Cube as a preferred geometric solid, where as Botta works with the geometric relationships between the cylinder and cube along axes of symmetry which is evidenced in most of his works.

Need for a point of reference on the inside and a transitional space on the outside

“Man inhabits a space when he is able to orient himself within it. This leads to man's ability to measure his space and experience its orientation and its direction as well as place it in relation to the cycles of the sun and the seasons and acquire an awareness of that space and his inhabiting that space”. “Martin Heidegger”(3) Botta believes that man can understand and negotiate his space more comfortably whether it be a building in a city or an interior space within a building, if there is a point of reference that can be identified in relation to the area. This belief is heavily influenced by the German Philosopher who Botta often quotes when speaking on this subject, this

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could also be attributed to Kahn who designed his buildings in order to avail of the natural light which he has been renowned for his ability to create dramatic scenes within a space, altering the experience of the building from day to night and in the changing of the seasons from summer through winter. One of Kahns most famous buildings to employ this is the Kimbell art museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

Historical determinism in which architecture acts as a mirror of its times.

“Architecture is the shape of history, therefore it has to portray the expectations, hopes and contradictions of its own time”. (4) Rather than attempting to replicate the examples of history and its different styles. Botta observes and pays tribute to the historical but steers clear of the post modernist trend of adding such features such as faux Romanesque elements to his buildings, he believes architecture should reflect the present and let history determine its success. The influence for this idea could again be linked to the Tendenaz and also Carlo Scarpa who was renowned for his opposition to interventionist works he was commissioned to carry out during his career. Scarpa believed that trying to introduce modern restorations over historical features was

“They order you to imitate the style of ancient windows, forgetting that those windows were produced in different times by a different way of life with ‘windows’ made of other materials in other styles and with a different way of making windows. Anyway stupid imitations of that sort always look mean. Buildings that imitate look like humbugs”,(5)

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Project examples

Figure 2

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art USA 1989-1995 The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ,SFMOMA, represents Bottas purity in geometric volumes on a grand scale as the cylindrical form stands central, capturing the natural light and conducting it down into a spacious cavity into the centre of the building, around which are arranged the distribution routes giving access to the exhibition rooms.The brick arrangement on the exterior of the building is placed in such a way as to create shadow patterns on the walls changing the direction of the sun. The building represents a bold statement of intent standing in a dense urban environment holding its own among the surrounding buildings that are many times its size.

Figure 3

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Figure 4

House in Stabio ,Ticnio Switzerland, 1989-1991 The house in Stabio Ticino was the first of Bottas round buildings. The primary cylindrical form is hollowed out to create individual spaces with their own individual negative forms that imply an axis of symmetry .The vertical arrangement of the windows allow for a generous amount of light to enter during the day and transforms the building at night by bringing the interior of the building into the foreground of the composition on the outside. The building does not enter into a dialogue with the other buildings within it’s surrounds. into its own the building by with adds autonomy to the building on its site as it stands within the landscape.

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Church of St. John the Baptist, Mogno, Maggia valley , Switzerland

"There's a strong, but very personal need for the sacred, Iconography cannot contribute much to this need, therefore sacred spaces must be reduced to their essential function.”(6)

Based at the foot of a mountain the symmetrical cylindrical form of the church allows light to flow into the nave ,the way the light and sunshine enter the building through the thick glass panes alters the appearance of the interior that is situated underground. The twelve large arches behind the Figure 5

altar, alternating dark and pale are reminiscent of

the porch of a vast cathedral. The large buttresses show how Botta looks to the historical and introduces these subtleties that are instantly recognisable a symbols of a church. While being respectful to the traditions of the ecumenical the church does not overtly display references or ornamentation normally associated with the appearance to the traditional church.

Figure 6 Figure 7

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Middle School in Morbio Inferiore, Switzerland.

Located within a rural landscape in Morbio, this school was Bottas first public building. It is a linear form that aims to sit as a landmark in the landscape being indifferent to its surroundings. The school’s design is basically organized around natural illumination for the rooms which is provided from diverse sources with the use of negative space and voids creating reference points for the readability of the structure to assure the transparency of the empty space around which the building surrounds. Rather than being an object placed on a site the building is intended to create the site.

Figure 8

Figure 9

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Library at Capuchin Monastery The library at the Capuchin Convent resting serenely in a vineyard displays Bottas recognition of, and respect for the site as the building is sited underground. In this instance it is an exercise in the reversal of massing as form is expressed solely in the negative. The triangular skylight and vertical slits are the only indications of the building from above. The relationship with the sky plays a particularly important role in this underground building as orientating oneself and noting the distinctions between public and specific areas are particularly important when the possibility of communicating with exterior references Figure 10

are diminished.

Figure 12 Figure 11

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Methodology

Figure 13 Bottas methodology begins in research approaching the problem in hand from both a philosophical and spiritual perspective. He also spends a great deal of time researching the topography of each site where he intends to build, spending much time “listening” to the local area and its geography and societal context. "I need to go and explore and ask a place

— and intuit its aspirations, sense its history, I believe that a place contains the potential for its own transformation. If one listens, it will tell you what to do." Botta is a prolific and very talented sketcher and all of his designs begin and end there. He uses his sketches as visual notes for the design throughout the whole process. The sketch shown demonstrates how Botta thinks while sketching, working in plan and possibly testing his ideas in perspective. Botta works in this way all through to final detail plan constantly drawing and correcting over different versions as his design develops. Botta likens his sketches to fragments of a large mosaic of possible designs, from early concepts to the final details. With the faint lines extend across the plan to indicate either elements above or guidelines for the proportions.

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This process seems to keep Botta in constant dialogue with his design thus enabling him to refine and visualize the design with this method.

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Figure 14

Case Study Church of St. John the Baptist, Mogno, Maggia valley, Switzerland Project 1986/92 Construction 1992-1998 Location Mogno-Fusio, Maggia Valley , TI, Switzerland Commissioned by Mogno Church Reconstruction Association

In April of 1986, an enormous landslide destroyed a dozen buildings in Mogno, including the town’s church. Mario Botta was presented with the task of reconstructing the 17th century church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

The concept for this project was for Botta, a meditation upon the relationship between the building, as an expression of man's presence on the land, and the boundless power of nature. The subtle play between the massiveness of the stone wall and the lightness of the glass roof

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was to be a testimony to the survival of the building, which is designed as a symbol of defiance of the mountain by the village. The thick lower mass of the stone wall reflects the nature of the construction as a whole, and is lightened by the gradual tapering of the courses towards the top.

Figure 15

The interior plan consists of a rectangle inscribed within an external ellipse that ultimately changes into a circle at roof level. Botta orientates the church space by means of the axis of the ellipse, which becomes a circle at the conveniently sloped roof. The powerful structure of two buttresses, which tie the lower and upper walls together, emphasizes the strength of resistance required in a building designed to cope with the brutal forces of nature. Materials The materials used in the construction were a double skinned stone block wall made of alternating courses of Riveo granite and white Peccia marble. The glazed roof is supported by a metallic structure, framed in black iron, designed to look like a leaf or the tree of life, allows light to shine into the interior at all seasons and times of day, but constantly changing. It is a

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checkerboard of dark and pale stone.. The floors are Riveo granite and Peccia marble slabs.

The construction method, marked by the striped, two-colour facades, stresses a classic stratification of the stone building and underlines the attention to gravity involved in this technique.

Diagram of the Designers Concept

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Critique

Figure 16

“The determination to resist the mountain, to bear witness to something greater than ones own life, the need to consolidate the patrimony of work, the need to overcome the sense of loneliness, the necessity of affirming the hopes and expectations of our times, the need to take action in the space between the absent immensity of the infinite, and the consciousness of ones own limits”(7) Successful The geometry of the construction is beautiful in its design as it’s made up of simple additive forms using the cylinder for the exterior acting as the statement of the designers intent, elliptical in plan and extending to the top creating a solid presence of the massive volume of the cylinder as it raises its height to that of the mountains. The truncation of the cylinder at the roof creates a perfect circle of glass that invites natural light making dramatic transformations at different times of the day and through the changing light from the positioning of the sun through the seasons and giveing continual contact with nature. The massive stone wall is not just a surface it’s mass on a great scale and clearly underpins

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Bottas attempt to resist a great force of nature and the statement it makes to me is “I respect the power of nature but I will overcome and intend to so for a long time to come”. The use of the Buttresses and the arch to me are very clever features, although being very modern in their appearance they leave the visitor in no doubt that they are in a church. The contrast of the colouring of the stone used in the interior, works from the point of view of creating an atmosphere that commands silence and invites contemplation.

Unsuccessful Although the form represents a determination to resist, one wonders if Bottas use of form could have been more sympathetic to the context of the area. For the size of the building I question whether the cylinder is in correct proportion to the functional space. When I consider this, I have a niggling that sometimes Bottas motives for this and other designs are not only a statement of their own time but also a monument to their creator in their massive volumes and materials used that will inevitability stand the test of time, but when the symbolism that they were designed to represent fade or become outdated that one constant will remain, that of their Architect.

Stephen Dignam Dec 2009.

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Bibliography: Quotes: (1) How Botta Builds, Debra Moffit - http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/0830/culture_12.html (2) http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature1561/ (3) (4) http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature1561/

,(5) Essay on Carlo Scarpa http://www.scribd.com/doc/18092387/Carlo-Scarpa (6) http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature1561/ (7) Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames p.100

Books: Smith Sekandra, 2006, Architects drawings world famous Architects Elsevier Limited, ISBN 0 7506 57197

Samuel Flora ,2007, Le Corbusier in detail, Elsevier Limited ,ISBN 978-0-75-066354-0 Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Articles: Psarra Sophia 1997,Geometry and space in the Architecture of Le Corbusier and Mario Botta Space Syntax First International Symposium London Online References: http://designmuseum.org/design/louis-kahn http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carlo_Scarpa&printable=yes 1 of 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Heidegger http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations/culture/culture-in-switz... http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/sfmoma/index.html 1 of

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http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/School_in_Morbio_Inferior.html 1 of http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/glk?http://www.philadelphiabui... http://mail.architexturez.net/+/Deleuze-Guattari-L/archive/msg13144.shtml http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature1561/ http://www.architectureweek.com/2006/0830/culture_1-1.html

Images: Figure 1:

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 2

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 3

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 4

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 5

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 6

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 7

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 8

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 9

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

Figure 10

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 11

www.botta.ch/index.html

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Figure 12

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 13

Smith Sekandra, 2006, Architects drawings world famous Architects Elsevier Limited, ISBN 0 7506 57197

Figure 14

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 15

www.botta.ch/index.html

Figure 16

Sakelaridu Irenea, 2006, Mario Botta Architectural poetics, Hudson & Thames

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Mario Botta Ideology

Stephen Dignam 2631634 December 2009

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