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Artaria, Paul
(b Basle, 6 Aug 1892; d Heiden, 25 Sept 1959). Swiss architect, teacher and writer. He was initially apprenticed as a construction draughtsman (1906–8), then spent time in the Gewerbeschule, Basle (1909–10), before working in various offices in Basle and Lausanne. From 1913 to 1920 he worked for Hans Bernoulli, an experience that was crucial to his development, and was involved with the building of low-cost housing and the planning of housing estates. In 1920 he began to work with Karl Zaeslin (1886–1936), for example on the ‘Nur-Dach-Holzhaus’ (1920), Prêles, and they practised together formally from 1922 to 1924; a notable achievement was their competition-winning house design (1922; unexecuted), Kriens. After a major success in the competition for the Habermatten estate (1923) in Riehen, conceived in an innovative terraced style—though the project was designed by HANS SCHMIDT in Artaria’s name—Artaria then set up a practice (1926–30) with Schmidt, one of the leading exponents of Neues Bauen in Switzerland. With Schmidt he built the first flat-roofed houses in Switzerland, using steel construction methods (e.g. the Colnaghi House (1927) and the Schaeffer House (1928–9), both Riehen). Schmidt was involved more with the conceptual design and planning of buildings, while Artaria worked on the execution of the technically new projects and on interiors and furniture. Artaria’s significance lies in the fact that he committed himself to Neues Bauen, but more at the technological and practical rather than theoretical level. Through his knowledge of wooden buildings he was able to contribute to Neues Bauen in the use of such modern wood building technology as gusset construction (e.g. Haus Mooshalde (1926), Riehen, by Artaria and Schmidt). He also carried out independent competition projects, for example Petersschule (1926; unexecuted), Basle. After his partnership with Schmidt ended, Artaria designed some steel-framed buildings, such as the Rebgasse House (1931), Biningen, and a competition entry for the Swiss Pavilion (unexecuted) at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937), Paris. During the Depression of the 1930s, however, he developed a renewed interest in timber construction and produced some important examples, such as the projected Malerhaus (1933; unexecuted), Saignelégier, the Malerhaus Vierjuchartenweg (1935), Riehen, the holiday house built for the Landesausstellung (1939), Zurich, and the Malerhaus Albert Schnyder (1946), Delémont. In 1928 Artaria had participated in the first meeting of CIAM (see CIAM, fig. 1); in 1933 he became a founder-member of Gruppe 33 and participated in collective competition projects and urban plans, including the Gewerbeschule (1939; unexecuted), Basle, and the plan for the Gellertquartier of Basle (1951; unexecuted). In 1947 he began to teach perspective drawing and interior design at the Gewerbeschule, Basle. He also published numerous books on architecture and interior design.
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