Mario Botta, the celebrated Swiss architect, was born in Mendrisio, Ticino in 1943. After serving an apprenticeship in Lugano, he attended art school in Milan, followed by studies at the University School of Architecture in Venice, obtaining his diploma in 1969 under the guidance of Carlo Scarpa and Giuseppe Mazzariol. During this period, he had the opportunity to meet and work with Le Corbusier and Louis I. Kahn. At the very start of his career in 1970, the first buildings he constructed were already characterized by the intense research that his many later creations across the world would epitomize. Parallel to his architectural career, he pursued his educational interests, teaching and contributing to conferences, seminars and critical reviews at various schools of architecture in Europe, Asia, the USA and Latin America. His work has earned him widespread international recognition and there have been numerous exhibitions devoted to his creative designs. He has received more than 50 awards and accolades. His most notable works to date include: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Evry Cathedral, the MART Museum in Rovereto, Italy, the Tinguely Museum in Basel, the Church of Santo Volto in Turin and the Tschuggen Bergoase Hotel in Arosa.