Bruno Mertens was born in Renkum in 1914. His parents were pacifists, his father was an architect. This deeply influenced Bruno Mertens' attitude to life. In 1932 he decides to become an architect and studies at the M.T.S. in Utrecht. In 1936 he wins first prize in an architectural competition. From 1938 to 1942, he studies urban planning and architecture at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule in Zurich. Here he was taught by Prof. Salvisberg, Hess, Dunkel and Bernouilli, among others. In 1942, he meets the Swiss painter Susan Burki. 1942-1950: Architect in Zurich and Bern. Designs furniture and develops structures in aluminum. Exhibits a flexible cable arm construction "Bi-Con-Axion" at E55 in Rotterdam. Exhibits industrial designs at the Institute for Industrial Design in Amsterdam. Commissioned by W. Sandberg for a folding table he designed for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. 1950-1953: Feels too much inhibited in his activities by social factors and decides to become a painter. He starts living in a caravan and chooses the Spanish province of Catalonia as his base of operations. 1953-1955: Lives and works in Paris. 1955-1957: Develops new printing techniques for textiles ("pintography," a visible paint structure) and a reproduction technique with paint threads (the "filography"). 1957-1959: Works on pintography and filography paintings. Leaves for Scandinavia, creation of architectural paintings. 1961: Execution of a three-dimensional mural (22x4 meters) in polyester in the National Institute of Public Health in Bilthoven. 1962-1965: Execution of commercial commissions. 1965-1967: Constructs his first functional space objects, including furniture. 1968-1973: Designs monumental structural objects and (wind) mobiles. 1968: Design for the Dutch pavilion in Auroville, India. 1975: Start of the Buddhist Working Community 'Tidorp' in Burgh-Haamstede.