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Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zürich – the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Then one of the most prestigious schools in Europe, ETH regularly ranks among the top 25 in the world even today.
“At ETH, architecture was taught strictly from the Modernist perspective,” says Kundig. Developed in response to the more traditional, decorative styles, he explains, Modernism has its roots also in democratic ideals – as a reaction against “the self-indulgent, pompous ruling class that brought us two world wars.” Simplicity, clarity, and transparency were taught at ETH, as was a more rational and functional approach.
Kundig graduated in 1951, and the newly minted Dipl. Architekt ETH found work with the Ribary rm in Lucerne. It wasn’t a good t, however, and before the year was out, he was on his way to the United States, where a distant uncle in Salt Lake City agreed to sponsor Kundig’s immigrant visa. It was there that he found work with William Thomas, Architect, and, sensing that he might stay longer than the year or two he had planned for, suggested to his girlfriend, Dorli (Dora) Obrist, that she join him from Switzerland.
The two were married in Salt Lake City in 1952.
Working as a draftsman for a rm that designed traditional Mormon churches wasn’t exactly what the European-trained Modernist had in mind, so the couple packed up everything they owned and headed over the Sierra Nevadas into California. Working in Merced, Kundig came across an ad in an architectural magazine. The venerable Spokane rm Whitehouse, Price, DeNeff & Deeble was looking for help. Kundig responded by letter; a phone interview was followed by an offer and a check for moving expenses. In the spring of 1955, Moritz, Dora, and their seven-month- old son Tom arrived in Spokane.
Moritz Kundig stands at the entrance to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, July 21, 2010. Photo by Shane Young Photography.
The Kundig family on vacation at Montana’s Yaak Valley, 1966 (left to right): Sylvia, Henry, Dora, Tom, and Moritz. Photo courtesy of Moritz Kundig.