Helmut Swiczinsky was born on January 13, 1944, in Poznań, Poland, but grew up in Vienna. He studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and the Architectural Association in London. Together with Wolf D. Prix and Michael Holzer, he founded the studio Coop Himmelb(l)au in 1968. In 1973, he was a visiting professor at the Architectural Association in London. Due to health reasons, he was unable to engage in daily project work from 2002 onwards and permanently left the studio Coop Himmelb(l)au in 2007.