Rudolf Olgiati is a Swiss architect who lived from 1910 until 1995. He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich and graduated in 1934. He first worked as an architect in Zürich and from 1944 on, in Flims, Grisons, where he mainly built and renovated family homes. Many of his buildings combine influences of the New Objectivity movement with local architectural traditions. Cubic volumes are very present in his work, even in smaller volumes such as columns or chimneys. Rudolf Olgiati uses arches und columns, that traditionally are used as load bearing structures, for their optical function. Most of his buildings are white. The colour white is also used prominently in the interior; darker colours are used on walls he wants to be less visible. His son, Valerio Olgiati, is also working as an architect.
