Monographs on architects are a dime a dozen; architects often have a strong hand in their creation, if they do not regard them as a project in their own right. This is certainly true of Valerio Olgiati’s *Built*. In that beautifully published book, he himself strictly determined the selection and order of images and plans. He was also the only one to contribute a few sparse words to the book. It reveals how he views his role as an architect: as a creator of extraordinary experiences and images. The contrast with David Chipperfield’s modesty in David Chipperfield Architects/Architektur und Baudetails is striking.

Olgiati opens Built with the text ‘In this book are my built projects. Photos are at the front and plans at the back. At the end of the book there is information about all projects and photos. I have only selected the few photos from our archive that clearly document my intentions. The specific order of the photos explains the nature of my work’. The promised information and plans are, however, very scarce: one plan per project, followed by a list of projects, with year and photo credits.

The photographs in this book are not organised by project, nor do they have any clear thematic coherence, except that Olgiati places detailed images of his buildings before images of the building as a whole. Thus, one sees how his details emphasise weight, mass and stacking, yet also subtly undermine them, for example by having heavy columns end in a narrow point. You can also see how he uses (sparingly applied) decoration, but generally the material itself – preferably concrete – as ‘cladding’.

What becomes particularly clear is that this architecture is almost indifferent to the programme it houses. Whether it is a living room, a studio, a car park or an office, the effect of space, light and mass is comparable. (Incidentally, the book makes it very difficult to attribute the photographs to a specific project, as the pagination gradually disappears). This architecture also very self-assertively claims its place: the refined forms carefully keep the surroundings at a distance, particularly in a cluttered village or urban context.

This makes Built both intriguing and irritating. The images show that Olgiati possesses an unusually high degree of mastery as a designer, but the way in which he seeks to astonish, and omits any explanation (and also does not let others have their say), betrays that he sees himself almost as a visionary, a spatial artist. That is rather vain.

David Chipperfield, as revealed in an interview in his monograph, takes a very different view of the role of architects. In his view, they are rarely ‘masters’ or geniuses anymore, if only because commissions that radically reshape a city have become rare. Architects are more often simply service providers, professionals. He also has a greater appreciation for the social aspect inherent in the architect’s gesture. It is about places that people use, and so that is what it must be about. Chipperfield also appears to be very sensitive to the historical roots of architecture: how buildings ‘speak’ by building on existing forms.

The latter is not surprising, as Chipperfield has carried out numerous restorations and renovations of important historic buildings such as the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, the Neues Museum in Berlin and Mies van der Rohe’s masterpiece, the Neue Nationalgalerie, also in Berlin. All these projects, 22 in total, are superbly documented, not only with plans and photographs, but also with a wealth of details. These details, particularly in the case of the Neue Nationalgalerie project, demonstrate how meticulously Chipperfield and his team approach heritage. You can hardly tell that the building has been restored, however thorough the work may have been. That modesty, coupled with great craftsmanship, is heart-warming. It is a book that architects in particular will find very useful when working on complex and ambitious projects.

Built by Valerio Olgiati, Park Books, Zurich 2023. Hardback, 196 pages. ISBN 978-3-03860-283-5. Recommended retail price €38.

David Chipperfield Architects/Architecture and Construction Details, edited by Sandra Hofmeister, Edition Detail, Munich, 2022. ISBN: 978-3-95553-584-1. Recommended retail price: €59.90.