More than ever, architecture is in need of provocation, a new path beyond the traditional notion that buildings must serve as vessels, or symbols of something outside themselves. Non-Referential Architecture is nothing less than a manifesto for a new architecture. It brings together two leading thinkers, architect Valerio Olgiati and theorist Markus Breitschmid, who have grappled with this problem since their first encounter in 2005. In a world that itself increasingly rejects ideologies of any kind, Olgiati and Breitschmid offer Non-Referential Architecture as a radical, new approach free from rigid ideologies. Non-referential buildings, they argue, are entities that are themselves meaningful outside a vocabulary of fixed symbols and images and their historical connotations. For more than a decade, Olgiati and Breitschmid's thinking has placed them at the forefront of architectural theory. Indispensable for understanding what the future might hold for architecture, Non-Referential Architecture will become a new classic. The book's first edition, published in May 2018 by Simonett & Baer, was sold-out within months. This revised and slightly redesigned new edition makes this key text available again.

Valerio Olgiati’s latest book is about the beauty of the very varied buildings designed by the Swiss architect, captured in colour photographs and plans. The 15 projects, around half of them realised since the publication of Olgiati’s most recent monograph in 2018, are featured in this exquisite small volume for the first time as finished buildings. Indoor and outdoor shots show Olgiati’s intuition for spectacular buildings and atmospheric interiors — from the museum for the UNESCO world cultural heritage site in Bahrain to the Céline flagship store in Miami, from the office building for Baloise Insurance’s headquarters in Basel to the bedroom of the French fashion designer Nicolas Ghesquière, from the visitor centre of the Swiss National Park to the atelier for the musician Linard Bardill in Scharans. They are presented through colour photographs, floor plans, and sections. The elegant book design follows the style of Olgiati’s highly successful previous book, The Images of Architects.

The Graub nden-based architect Valerio Olgiati has become well-known outside Switzerland for such buildings as his school building in Paspels and the Atelier Bardill in Scharans, but not least for his Yellow House and his studio in Flims. In the form of a well-illustrated essay, the architect explains how he develops his projects, the parameters that influence his design process, and the intellectual context from which he works. In a reduced, clear language this iconographic autobiography offers a very personal view of the Valerio Olgiati's activity and of his self-image as an architect, thus supplementing with a personal statement the earlier publication "DADO."
Text and images complement each other to create a narrative thread that offers informative insights into the architect's intellectual and visual imagination and expands our understanding of Olgiati's oeuvre.

The Graubünden-based architect Valerio Olgiati has become well-known outside Switzerland for such buildings as his school building in Paspels and the Atelier Bardill in Scharans, but not least for his Yellow House and his studio in Flims. In the form of a wellillustrated essay, the architect explains how he develops his projects, the parameters that influence his design process, and the intellectual context from which he works. In a reduced, clear language this iconographic autobiography offers a very personal view of the Valerio Olgiati’s activity and of his selfimage as an architect, thus supplementing with a personal statement the earlier publication DADO. Text and images complement each other to create a narrative thread that offers informative insights into the architect’s intellectual and visual imagination and expands our understanding of Olgiati’s oeuvre.

More than ever, architecture is in need of provocation, a new path beyond the traditional notion that buildings must serve as vessels, or symbols of something outside themselves. Non-Referential Architecture is nothing less than a manifesto for a new architecture. It brings together two leading thinkers, architect Valerio Olgiati and theorist Markus Breitschmid, who have grappled with this problem since their first encounter in 2005. In a world that itself increasingly rejects ideologies of any kind, Olgiati and Breitschmid offer Non-Referential Architecture as a radical, new approach free from rigid ideologies. Non-referential buildings, they argue, are entities that are themselves meaningful outside a vocabulary of fixed symbols and images, and their historical connotations. For more than a decade, Olgiati and Breitschmid's thinking has placed them at the forefront of architectural theory. Indispensable for understanding what the future might hold for architecture, Non-Referential Architecture will become a new classic. The book's first edition, published in May 2018 by Simonett & Baer, was sold-out within months. This revised and slightly redesigned new edition makes this key text available again. Text in Italian.