Approximations: The Architecture of Peter Märkli
Editor: Mohsen Mostafavi The MIT Press, 2002

The Swiss architect Peter Mrkli is best known for La Congiunta, the gallery in the canton of Ticino that houses the reliefs of the sculptor Hans Josephson. He has also designed many residential projects in Switzerland. His unconventional approach, combined with his understanding of materials and color, make him a unique figure in contemporary European architecture.

Approximations focuses on Mrklis work from 1982 to the present. It traces the professional and political impact on Mrklis early work of Hans Josephson and the architect Rudolph Olgiati. It also shows how the elemental, almost "archaic" quality of Mrklis work is influenced by a wide variety of sources, including Greek antiquity, the Renaissance, the simple farmhouses of the Po Valley, African and Mexican art, and Matisses paintings. The book contains an essay by Mohsen Mostafavi and an extensive conversation between Mrkli and Marcel Meili.