Valerio Olgiati studied architecture at ETH Zuerich. Having lived and worked first in Zuerich and later in Los Angeles for some years, in 1996 he opened his own practice in Zurich and in 2008 with his wife Tamara Olgiati in Flims.
Among his major buildings are the schoolhouse in Paspels, the Yellow House in Flims, a house for a musician in Scharans and the museum for the Swiss National Park in Zernez. Among his major projects are a housing development in Zug, a winery for Carnasciale, Italy and a music auditorium for the manor Hohenbeilstein in Germany.
There are eleven monographs about his work as an architect and teacher.
Among others he has been awarded the German Architecture Prize Appreciation Honor and four times he has received the prize for „the Best Building in Switzerland“. Valerio Olgiati is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
As a guest professor he taught at ETH Zuerich, at AA London and at Cornell University, New York. In 2009 he led the Kenzo Tange Chair at Harvard University, Cambridge. Since 2002 he has been a full professor at the Accademia di architettura Mendrisio at the Università della Svizzera italiana.