Upon completing his studies from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (1952-1957), Luigi Snozzi (born 29.07.1932) sought to further his knowledge through internships with Ticino architects Peppo Brivio and Rino Tami. In 1958, he opened his own office in Locarno, marking the beginning of his career as an architect.
At the time, modern architecture was still a novelty in the canton of Ticino. Snozzi, along with his colleagues Livio Vacchini and Aurelio Galfetti, had studied the principles of modernism at ETH Zurich and aimed to incorporate them in their work. From 1962 to 1971, Snozzi collaborated on various design projects and competition proposals with Livio Vacchini. He also served as a guest lecturer for architectural design at ETH Zurich from 1973 to 1975. In addition, Snozzi maintained a second office in Zurich from 1975 to 1988, alongside his partner Bruno Jenni. Eventually, in 1985, he became a full professor at EPFL Lausanne, where he taught until 1997.
In 1986, Snozzi served as the president of the advisory design board in the city of Salzburg for two years. A decade later, in 1988, he opened a second office in Lausanne. His 1975 exhibition “Tendencies – New Architecture in Ticino” in Zurich solidified his position as a leading figure in the Ticino School of Architecture, and his influence on the younger generation of Swiss architects continues until now.
For Snozzi, modernist architects serve as a constant source of inspiration, but he is not one to blindly follow their methods. Instead, he uses history as a framework for creating something new. As he often says, “Architecture must not invent, but rather reframe.”
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