Constructing a Modern Architecture of Excellence: The Case of Switzerland

This project investigated the factors underpinning the widely acknowledged excellence of modern Swiss architecture. Switzerland has been unusually prominent in architecture, from the moment of high modernism in the 1930s through the 1940s, La Tendenza in the 1970s and certainly in the last 20 years. The project toothed at the pre-conditions for the generally high and sometimes world class standard of Swiss architecture. We asked how it could be that so many good architects and engineers emerge from such a small and unusual country, and how it is that building quality is so high. The question is complex and the methodology was to separate possible influences.
These were examined through archival and desk top research in English and German, as well as site visits and interviews. AHRC funding enabled a team of Research Assistants, under the guidance of the successive Principle Investigators, to work on these issues across the two years of the project. The research methodologies employed included: detailed interviews with key players in Swiss architecture, (including a representative range from high-profile, word class offices to smaller emerging offices such as