Gion A. Caminada

Last updated

Caminada interviewed by Wohnblog TV in 2014 Gion A Caminada WohnblogTV.jpg
Caminada interviewed by Wohnblog TV in 2014

Gion Antoni Caminada [1] (born 8 August 1957) [2] is a Swiss architect and professor of architecture at the ETH Zurich. He is known for his works in and around the Swiss village of Vrin, including the Stiva da morts mortuary. Many of Caminada's projects are built of wood in a minimalist style mixing modern design with traditional Swiss methods and materials.

Contents

Education and career

Caminada was born in Vrin, Graubünden, Switzerland. [2] After apprenticing as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, Caminada attended the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich (now part of the Zurich University of the Arts). [2] [3] He then completed a postgraduate degree in architecture at ETH Zurich, opening an architecture office in his home village of Vrin in the late 1970s. [2] [3] In 1998 he became an assistant professor of architecture at the ETH. [3] In 2008 he was named an associate professor for architecture and design at the same institution. [2] [3] In 2020 he was made a full professor for architecture and design at the ETH. [3]

Works

Stiva da morts in Vrin Vrin Totenstube.jpg
Stiva da morts in Vrin

Caminada is known for his works concentrated in and around Vrin. [2] [4] Perhaps his most well-known work is the Stiva da morts (Romansh : room of the dead) or Totenstube (German : room of the dead), [5] a mortuary used for wakes and funerals designed and built adjacent to Vrin's church between 1996 and 2002. [1] [5] [6] Another key work in Vrin is the Mehrzweckhalle Vrin, a multipurpose hall built in 1995 and designed in collaboration with civil engineer Jürg Conzett. [7] Many of Caminada's projects are built of wood in a minimalist style mixing modern design with traditional Swiss methods and materials. [2] In this way his work is comparable to that of Peter Zumthor, a fellow Swiss architect also hailing from Graubünden. [2]

Caminada's other works include a house in Blatten bei Naters, a house in Degen, a girls' boarding school dormitory at Disentis Abbey and other projects in Disentis, a school in Duvin, renovating a guesthouse in Valendas, and a residential building in Siat, among many others.

In 2014 the House of Art in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, exhibited a collection of Caminada's works. [2] [4]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilanz</span> Former municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Ilanz is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The former municipality of Ilanz was congruent with the town of Ilanz. On 1 January 1978, the former municipality of Strada merged into the new municipality of Ilanz. On 1 January 2014, the municipality of Ilanz and the surrounding municipalities Castrisch, Ladir, Luven, Pitasch, Riein, Ruschein, Schnaus, Sevgein, Duvin, Pigniu, Rueun and Siat merged into the new municipality of Ilanz/Glion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disentis</span> Municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Disentis (German) or Mustér, with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vorderrhein</span> River in Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland

The Vorderrhein is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area of 1,512 square kilometres is located predominantly in the canton of Graubünden (Switzerland). The Vorderrhein is about 76 kilometres (47 mi) long, thus more than 5% longer than the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur. The Vorderrhein, however, has an average water flow of 53.8 m3/s (1,900 cu ft/s), which is less than the flow of the Hinterrhein. According to the Atlas of Switzerland of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, the source of the Vorderrhein—and thus of the Rhine—is located north of the Rein da Tuma and Lake Toma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumnezia</span> Municipality in Grisons, Switzerland

Lumnezia is a valley region and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss of canton of Graubünden. The former municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Lumnezia. It covers the Val Lumnezia, a Swiss high alpine valley. Its upper regions are among the most remote areas in the Swiss Alps. The official language is Romansh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Menn</span> Swiss civil engineer and bridge designer

Christian Menn was a renowned Swiss civil engineer and bridge designer. He was involved in the construction of around 100 bridges worldwide, but the focus of his work was in eastern Switzerland, especially in canton Graubünden. He continued the tradition of and had a decisive influence on Swiss bridge building. The technical and aesthetic possibilities of prestressed concrete were most fully realized with his bridges in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumvitg</span> Municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Sumvitg is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medel (Lucmagn)</span> Municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Medel is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tujetsch</span> Municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Tujetsch is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is the westernmost municipality of the canton, connected to Urseren by the Oberalp Pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vrin</span> Former municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Vrin is a village and a former municipality in the Lumnezia. It belonged to the circle of Lugnez/Lumnezia in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Lumnezia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagogn</span> Municipality in Graubünden, Switzerland

Sagogn is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ETH Zurich Faculty of Architecture</span> Architecture school in Zurich, Switzerland

Founded in 1854, the Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland is an architecture school in Zürich, providing education in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban design. It has around 1,900 students, 350 staff members, and an annual budget of CHF 40 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viamala</span> Gorge and pathway in Switzerland

Viamala or Via Mala is a narrow gorge along the river Hinterrhein between Zillis-Reischen and Thusis in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, as well as the ancient and notorious pathway which traverses the gorge. Historically the Viamala was the most serious obstacle on the approach to the Splügen and San Bernardino mountain passes.

Annette Gigon / Mike Guyer Architects is an architectural office based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is led by the Swiss-born architect Annette Gigon and the U.S.-born architect Mike Guyer. Works by the office have been widely published and are admired for their formal logic and legibility, their sensitive handling of materials, and their skillful use of color.

Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jürg Conzett</span> Swiss civil engineer

Jürg Conzett is a Swiss civil engineer known for designing bridges. After studying at the ETH Zurich and working for architect Peter Zumthor, Conzett started his own civil engineering office in 1988. Perhaps his best known works are a series of three pedestrian bridges located on the Veia Traversina trail of the Viamala in Switzerland. Though many of Conzett's works are in Switzerland, he has designed bridges elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auszeichnungen für gute Bauten Graubünden</span> Swiss architecture award

Auszeichnungen für gute Bauten Graubünden is an architecture prize that has been awarded by the Gutes Bauen Graubünden since 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raphael Zuber</span> Swiss architect (born 1973)

Raphael Zuber is a Swiss architect.

Silvia Gmür was a Swiss architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Benedict's Chapel, Sumvitg</span>

The Chapel of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic church located in Sumvitg, Surselva Region, canton of Graubünden, Switzerland.

References

  1. 1 2 "Stiva da morts". Hidden Architecture. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Frearson, Amy (16 April 2014). "New exhibition showcases the work of Swiss architect Gion A Caminada". Dezeen. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Professur". Professor Gion A. Caminada. ETH Zurich. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 "One architect's Swiss village revival in retrospect". Phaidon. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 Regiun Surselva (2020). "Stiva da morts /Totenstube, Vrin". surselva.info (in German). Surselva Turismus. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  6. Tschanz, Martin. "A community mortuary building: Stiva da morts – Totenstube". archiweb.cz. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  7. "Mehrzweckhalle Vrin". Atlas of Places. October 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. "Alumni – Swiss Art Awards". Swiss Art Awards. Swiss Federal Office of Culture. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. "Verband der deutschen Kritiker e.V." (in German). Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  10. "Prix Meret Oppenheim – Alumni". Swiss Art Awards. Swiss Federal Office of Culture. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  11. "Winners 2016". Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

Further reading