Otto Rudolf Salvisberg (1882–1940 · architect)

Salvisberg was born in Switzerland in 1882. After studying at the technical college in Biel, he worked mainly in Germany until 1929. Following stints in Munich and Karlsruhe, where he gave guest lectures at the technical universities, he moved to Berlin in 1908 and founded his own architectural practice in the capital in 1913. His most famous works include the expansion of the garden city of Piesteritz near Wittenberg, the Forest Estate "Onkel-Toms-Hütte" in Zehlendorf and the White City Estate in Reinickendorf. In addition to housing estates, Salvisberg designed several villas and private homes as well as hospitals and institutional buildings. Although he created important works of Modernism, it is difficult to define his work in any single style. In October 1928, he was appointed design professor at the renowned Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Besides that he also acted as chief architect for the Basel-based pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-LaRoche.