Max Dudler (born 18 November 1949 in Altenrhein, Switzerland) is a Swiss

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

with international fame. The main characteristic of Max Dudler's architecture is a combination of strict Swiss minimalism and classical rationalism that is found both in the historical and contemporary architecture.

Education and career

Max Dudler studied at the Frankfurt

Städelschule The Städelschule (), Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, is a tertiary school of art in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It accepts about 20 students each year from 500 applicants, and has a total of approximately 150 students of visual a ...

, a contemporary fine arts academy, where he was a student of Günter Bock, and later at the Academy of Arts in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with Ludwig Leo. He obtained his diploma in 1979. His first employment in 1981 brought him to O. M. Ungers, with whom and others he completed the exhibition hall 9 and the Galleria of

Messe Frankfurt Messe Frankfurt () is the world's largest trade fair, congress and event organizer with its own exhibition grounds. The organisation has 2,500 employees at some 30 locations, generating annual sales of around €661 million. Its services inclu ...

. In 1986 he established his own firm with Karl Dudler und Pete Welbergen, but since 1992, he started to run the firm with offices in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

without a partner. Dudler has held many teaching positions and had exhibitions both in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, for example, he was a faculty member at IUAV University of Venice 1989/1990. He was a lecturer at the summer academy of architecture in Herne (1989),

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

(1990),

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

1993 to 1995) and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(1996). From 1996 to 1999 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Dortmund. Since 2004 he has been a Professor for Architecture at the prestigious Art Academy in Düsseldorf together with Axel Schultes and Laurids Ortner (who was a professor there from 1987 to 2009).

Important buildings (selection)

* 1986–1989: BEWAG Substation, Berlin * 1997–2004:

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

(Building extensions), Berlin * 1999–2000: The building of Deutschen Börse, Frankfurt * 2005
Ritter Museum
for Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, Waldenbuch near Stuttgart * 2002–2005
Dioezesan Library

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

* 2003–2009
Skyscrapers Ensemble on Elmstreet

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

* 2006–2009
Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum
der

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

* 2008–2012: New City Hall on Brother House Terrain,

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

* 2009: Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm-Zentrum library at

* 2009–2011:

Hambach Castle Hambach Castle (german: Hambacher Schloss) is a castle near the urban district Hambach of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement because of the Hambacher Fest which ...

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''. Geography Location T ...

* 2011: Visitor Centre,

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle (german: Heidelberger Schloss) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demoli ...

* 2014: Visitor Centre,

Sparrenburg Castle Sparrenberg Castle, also known as the Sparrenburg (german: Burg und Festung Sparrenberg or ''Sparrenburg''), is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg hill ( altitude) in the T ...

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

Sparrenburg visitor centre
''Archilovers'', pub. 11/25/2014, images: Stefan Müller *

Museumsinsel (Berlin U-Bahn) Museumsinsel is a subway station in Berlin's Mitte district. It is part of the extension of the subway line U5 from Alexanderplatz to Brandenburger Tor, with groundbreaking occurring in 2010. The station opened on 9 July 2021. Design The Museum ...

station

Publications (selection)

* Max Dudler: ''Museum Ritter''
Niggli Verlag
Sulgen/Zürich 2005, * Max Dudler: ''IBM Schweiz''
Niggli Verlag
Sulgen/Zürich 2005, * J. Chr. Bürkle: ''Max Dudler, Architektur für die Stadt''
Niggli Verlag
Sulgen/Zürich 2003, * Max Dudler, Gerwin Zohlen: ''Bauplan, die Architektur Max Dudlers'', Gebr. Mann Verlag Berlin 2002, * Max Dudler, Martin Kieren: ''Max Dudler, Architekt'', Gebr. Mann Verlag Berlin 1999,

Notes and references

External links

Interview with Max Dudler
(German) about - What is architecture? * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudler, Max 1949 births Living people Swiss architects 20th-century German architects Städelschule alumni Kunstakademie Düsseldorf faculty 21st-century German architects