Valerio Olgiati is the son of the Swiss architect Rudolf Olgiati and studied architecture until 1986 at ETH Zürich. Having lived and worked first in Zurich and later in Los Angeles for some years with Frank Escher, in 1996 he opened his own practice in Zurich and in 2008 in Flims. 1994 he got the "Eidgenössisches Kunststipendium". As a guest professor he taught at ETH Zürich, at Architectural Association School of Architecture London and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Olgiati exhibited 1998 in the Galleria Aam in Milan, 1999 at the ETH Zürich, 2009 at the Università della Svizzera italiana, 2009 at the Royal Institute of British Architects and 2012 in the national museum of modern art Tokio. Since 2002 he has been a full professor at the Accademia di architettura Mendrisio at the Università della Svizzera italiana. From fall 2009 he holds the Kenzo Tange Chair at Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.