The Most Famous

ARCHITECTS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Architects. The pantheon dataset contains 518 Architects, 16 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 8th most number of Architects behind Spain, and Russia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Architects of all time. This list of famous Swiss Architects is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Architects.

1. Le Corbusier (1887 - 1965)

With an HPI of 83.05, Le Corbusier is the most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 162 different languages on wikipedia.

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 1887 – 27 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier (UK: lə kor-BEW-zee-ay, US: lə KOR-booz-YAY, -⁠booss-YAY, French: [lə kɔʁbyzje]), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland to French speaking Swiss parents, and acquired French nationality by naturalization on 19 September 1930. His career spanned five decades, in which he designed buildings in Europe, Japan, India, as well as North and South America. He considered that "the roots of modern architecture are to be found in Viollet-le-Duc". Dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities, Le Corbusier was influential in urban planning, and was a founding member of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM). Le Corbusier prepared the master plan for the city of Chandigarh in India, and contributed specific designs for several buildings there, especially the government buildings. On 17 July 2016, seventeen projects by Le Corbusier in seven countries were inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement. Le Corbusier remains a controversial figure. Some of his urban planning ideas have been criticized for their indifference to pre-existing cultural sites, societal expression and equality, and his alleged ties with fascism, antisemitism, eugenics, and the dictator Benito Mussolini have resulted in some continuing contention. Le Corbusier also designed well-known furniture such as the LC4 Chaise Lounge chair and the LC1 chair, both made of leather with metal framing.

2. Francesco Borromini (1599 - 1667)

With an HPI of 72.13, Francesco Borromini is the 2nd most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 59 different languages.

Francesco Borromini (, Italian: [franˈtʃesko borroˈmiːni]), byname of Francesco Castelli (Italian: [kaˈstɛlli]; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino who, with his contemporaries Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of Antiquity, Borromini developed an inventive and distinctive, if somewhat idiosyncratic, architecture employing manipulations of Classical architectural forms, geometrical rationales in his plans and symbolic meanings in his buildings. He seems to have had a sound understanding of structures, which perhaps Bernini and Cortona, who were principally trained in other areas of the visual arts, lacked. His soft lead drawings are particularly distinctive. He appears to have been a self-taught scholar, amassing a large library by the end of his life. His career was constrained by his personality. Unlike Bernini who easily adopted the mantle of the charming courtier in his pursuit of important commissions, Borromini was both melancholic and quick in temper which resulted in his withdrawing from certain jobs. His conflicted character led him to a death by suicide in 1667. Probably because his work was idiosyncratic, his subsequent influence was not widespread but is apparent in the Piedmontese works of Guarino Guarini and, as a fusion with the architectural modes of Bernini and Cortona, in the late Baroque architecture of Northern Europe. Later critics of the Baroque, such as Francesco Milizia and the English architect Sir John Soane, were particularly critical of Borromini's work. From the late nineteenth century onwards, interest has revived in the works of Borromini and his architecture has become appreciated for its inventiveness.

3. Carlo Maderno (1556 - 1629)

With an HPI of 67.96, Carlo Maderno is the 3rd most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Carlo Maderno or Maderna (1556 – 31 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, Switzerland, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica, and Sant'Andrea della Valle were of key importance in the evolution of the Italian Baroque. He often is referred to as the brother of sculptor Stefano Maderno, but this is not universally agreed upon.

4. Peter Zumthor (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 64.29, Peter Zumthor is the 4th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Peter Zumthor (German pronunciation: [ˈpeːtɐ ˈtsuːmtoːɐ̯]; born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal.

5. Domenico Fontana (1543 - 1607)

With an HPI of 64.22, Domenico Fontana is the 5th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Domenico Fontana (1543 – 28 June 1607) was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance, born in today's Ticino. He worked primarily in Italy, at Rome and Naples.

6. Mario Botta (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 62.93, Mario Botta is the 6th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Mario Botta is a Swiss architect born in Mendrisio, Ticino on 1 April 1943. At age fifteen, Botta dropped out of secondary school and apprenticed with the architectural firm of Carloni and Camenisch in Lugano. After three years, he went to the Art College in Milan for his baccalaureate, and then to Università Iuav di Venezia for his professional degree in 1969. During his time in Venice, Botta got to meet and work with the architects: Carlo Scarpa, Louis Kahn and Le Corbusier. Mario Botta started his own architectural practice in Lugano in 1970.

7. Hannes Meyer (1889 - 1954)

With an HPI of 61.40, Hannes Meyer is the 7th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Hans Emil "Hannes" Meyer (18 November 1889 – 19 July 1954) was a Swiss architect and second director of the Bauhaus Dessau from 1928 to 1930.

8. Max Bill (1908 - 1994)

With an HPI of 58.37, Max Bill is the 8th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.

9. Bernard Tschumi (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 57.48, Bernard Tschumi is the 9th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Bernard Tschumi (born 25 January 1944 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Son of the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi and a French mother, Tschumi is a dual French-Swiss national who works and lives in New York City and Paris. He studied in Paris and at ETH in Zurich, where he received his degree in architecture in 1969.

10. Pietro Lombardo (1435 - 1515)

With an HPI of 56.57, Pietro Lombardo is the 10th most famous Swiss Architect. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Pietro Lombardo is also the Italian version of the name of the theologian Peter Lombard. Pietro Lombardo (1435–1515) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect; born in Carona (Ticino), he was the father of Tullio Lombardo and Antonio Lombardo. In the late 15th century, Pietro Lombardo sculpted many Venetian tombs with the help of his sons. These tombs included those of Dante Alighieri, Doge Pasquale Malipiero and Pietro Mocenigo. He was the architect and chief sculptor for the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice (1481–1489) and of San Giobbe in Venice. He also depicted saints and the Virgin Mary on the walls of several Catholic churches. Pietro Lombardo is mentioned in line 27 of Canto XLV by Ezra Pound as the first in a list of Italian renaissance artists whom Pound admired.

People

Pantheon has 17 people classified as Swiss architects born between 1230 and 1944. Of these 17, 3 (17.65%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swiss architects include Peter Zumthor, Mario Botta, and Bernard Tschumi. The most famous deceased Swiss architects include Le Corbusier, Francesco Borromini, and Carlo Maderno. As of April 2024, 1 new Swiss architects have been added to Pantheon including Aurelio Galfetti.