Bruno Giacometti

Bruno Giacometti (24 August 1907 – 21 March 2012) was a Swiss architect, the son of the painter Giovanni Giacometti, and the brother of the artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti. He was the son of the painter Giovanni Giacometti and the brother of the artists Alberto and Diego Giacometti. From 1922 to 1926, he attended the cantonal school in Chur. He established his own office in Zurich in 1940. Shortly before opening his own office, Giacometti placed second in a 1939 competition for an extension to the cantonal school in Chur. The outbreak of the Second World War disrupted the beginning of his independent career, while his lengthy military service left him able to complete only a small number of building projects.

Giacometti designed a wide range of houses, residential developments, public buildings and exhibition structures, with much of his work located in the cantons of Zurich and Graubünden. Among his post-war commissions was the Swiss pavilion for the 1952 Venice Biennale, which was among his best-known works. Its understated exhibition spaces were designed to provide a setting for painting and sculpture. His other principal works included the hygiene and pharmacology institutes at the University of Zurich, the schools in Brusio, Uster town hall and the Natural History Museum in Chur.

Giacometti's buildings are associated with Swiss post-war modernism. In Graubünden, the placement and materials of his buildings often reflected their regional setting. He adopted a functional approach to architecture, treating buildings as a service to their users rather than as expressions of an architect’s individual style. His designs were shaped by the circumstances of each project and the practical requirements of those who would occupy the buildings. His own house in Zollikon reflected this functional approach, with a restrained modern design that placed practical requirements ahead of appearance.

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