MARIO BOTTA

mr. botta is 1 of e famous architects of our time. i am privileged 2 b able 2 attend a lecture by him in my uni. i dun really fancy his buildings so much but i went becoz i respect his language which is consistent thru-out his works. he is here in s'pore in conjunction with e swiss festival so actually we have 2 10 e swiss embassy 4 making tis arrangement.

he had worked with le corb n louis kahn so from his architecture, u can c tis traces of their language being continued thru botta. 2 botta, light is his primary importance in design, surpassing even geometry or form. without light, there will b no architecture. so e order of design 4 him is alwiz light, then geometry n finally materials. therefore, if u go thru his internal spaces in all e architectures of his, u will c e play of light 1 way or another being brought into e space as well as artificial lighting used at nite.

his language has tis distinctive red brick color used thru-out but not in all of his designs. i feel e distinctive highlite of solid n void clearly being projected in every of his designs. form is alwiz veli massive becoz he uses minimum metal or glass 4 all his buildings. another important thing dat he strongly believes in is e function. 2 him, function is not important, becoz there r many buildings dat changes function thru-out history. key elements of his design process b4 he embarks in any design will b 2 know e situation n context of e place, e memory n history involved, then he will sketch n then have physical models built 2 c e spaces.

he can't speak good english so he has tis interpreter who is my year's tutor mr. paolo cucchi 2 interpret during e lecture n e q&a session. he went thru some of his best works as well as some of his most recent works. all in all, i enjoyed e lecture n it gives me a clearer understanding of his architecture identity n character.

btw, he looks like a conductor who directs e orchestra 2 me. haha! his hairdo n attire probably makes him look like 1. he also brought along his charming wife. :)



Mario Botta Architetto