Approximations: The Architecture of Peter Märkli

The Swiss architect Peter Märkli is best known for La Congiunta, the gallery in the canton of Ticino that houses the reliefs of the sculptor Hans Josephson. He has also designed many residential projects in Switzerland. His unconventional approach, combined with his understanding of materials and color, make him a unique figure in contemporary European architecture.

Approximations focuses on Märkli's work from 1982 to the present. It traces the professional and political impact on Märkli's early work of Hans Josephson and the architect Rudolph Olgiati. It also shows how the elemental, almost "archaic" quality of Märkli's work is influenced by a wide variety of sources, including Greek antiquity, the Renaissance, the simple farmhouses of the Po Valley, African and Mexican art, and Matisse's paintings. The book contains an essay by Mohsen Mostafavi and an extensive conversation between Märkli and Marcel Meili.