Minimal Tradition

Max Bill was a Swiss painter, sculptor, exhibition designer and architect. His functional architecture demonstrates a return to the essentials of form, and has affected the "New Simplicity" and minimalist movements, including the work of Donald Judd, Herzog and De Meuron, and Burkhalter Sumi. Most of his built works are located in Switzerland and Germany, including his best-known project, the Hochschule fur Gestaltung in Ulm, Switzerland. In this study, three scholars discuss his work and its influence, providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of this seminal minimalist architect. Stanilaus von Moos contributes an overview of Bill's life and work. Karin Gimmi provides an in-depth study of 12 of his projects; and architect Hans Frei compares Bill's architecture and the designs of architects practising in the late 1990s.