Franco Ponti

Franco Ponti (born February 21, 1921 in Bellinzona ; † October 24, 1984 in Lugano ) was a Swiss architect .

Life

Franco Ponti, son of Santino from Induno Olona and Maddalena Deon, attended elementary school in Bellinzona and then the grammar school at the Collegio Papio in Ascona . After studying engineering for two semesters at the ETH Zurich , he switched to the Faculty of Architecture, where he stayed for three years without completing his studies.

In 1948 he opened a studio in Bellinzona with the architect Peppo Brivio (* 1923), with whom he worked on housing projects and the house of his brother Armando Ponti (1950). He produced buildings in Milan , Ascona and Sion , which occupied him from 1950 to 1955, the year in which he opened a studio in Lugano. There he planned his main works: Casa Rossi in Vezia (1958), Casa Spoerl in Muzzano (1959), Casa Hurni in Breganzona (1960–1963), Casa Boni in Massagno (1961–1963), Casa Fedele in Arbedo (1962), Casa Graf in Vezia (1963–1966), Casa Tognola in Biasca (1965) and the San Michele quarter in Caslano (1961–1972).

With the architect Milo Navone , who worked from 1969 to 1979, he built the Tognola House in Grono (1968–1969), the Villa Tettamanti in Castagnola (1969–1971), the Casa Boillat in Vezia (1960–1962), the villa Masoni in Arogno (1972-1975), Casa Marchi in Porza , Casa Cattaneo in Aldesago (1974-1975) and Casa Maurino in Biasca (1973-1975). In 1978 he became a member of the Association of Swiss Architects (SIA).

Architectural style

Ponti, one of the most important architects of post-war Swiss architecture, was a supporter of Frank Lloyd Wright's school of organic architecture . Many of Ponti's works contain references to the work of the American architect. He paid particular attention to the function of the rooms he designed, to their aesthetic appearance, which is inspired by simplicity and rationality, especially in the case of plants and facades, to the continuity between the interior spaces and to the integration of the building into the surrounding landscape.

For the houses he designed, Ponti used a lot of natural materials, especially stone and wood. He chose stone for the construction of the massive walls of the lower parts of the buildings, as a connecting element with the earth and the surrounding nature. His style has remained constant throughout his career, relying on a rather limited repertoire of shapes and strongly tied to Wright's inspiration.

Ponti's building was shown in an exhibition of the Fondazione Archivi Architetti Ticinesi, which took place in 1998 in the former Augustinian monastery in Monte Carasso .

literature

Marino Cattaneo: Ponti, Franco. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . September 16, 2009 , accessed December 16, 2019 .
Paolo Fumagalli: Franco Ponti, architetto 1921–1986. Edizioni Casagrande, Bellinzona 2009, ISBN 978-88-7713-500-1 .
Franco Ponti. In: Fondazione Archivi Architetti Ticinesi. Edizioni Casagrande Collana, Bellinzona 1998, ISBN 978-88-7713-500-1 .

Web links

Franco Ponti. In: arch INFORM .
Franco Ponti (Italian) on fondazioneaat.ch

Individual evidence

↑ Franco Ponti on Vitruvio.ch.
↑ At this time, Swiss architecture experienced one of the most glamorous times, driven by the work of Rino Tami , the only Swiss architect who has earned a solid international reputation.

personal data
SURNAME	Ponti, Franco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss architect
DATE OF BIRTH	February 21, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bellinzona , Canton Ticino
DATE OF DEATH	October 24, 1984
Place of death	Lugano

[1] Franco Ponti on Vitruvio.ch.

[2] At this time, Swiss architecture experienced one of the most glamorous times, driven by the work of Rino Tami , the only Swiss architect who has earned a solid international reputation.