His writings have been translated into Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

[1] Breitschmid's doctoral dissertation was reviewed by prominent architecture historian Wolfgang Pehnt in the leading German daily newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Breitschmid was awarded the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Gold Medal in 1994 as a top graduate student.

In 2015, the Colegio de Arquitectos del Perú awarded Breitschmid with its honorary medal for his contributions to the subject of Modernismo Suizo in Lima in 2015.

[4] Among other subjects, Breitschmid has written books on the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's thoughts on building, contemporary Swiss architecture such as the work of Pritzker-Prize laureates Herzog & de Meuron, Mario Botta, Christ & Gantenbein,[5][6][7][8] as well as several important essay on the work of Bruno Taut,[9][10][11][12] on Tectonics in Architecture,[13] and on Theories of Interpretation.

[23][24] Der bauende Geist was included in Hanno-Walter Kruft's A History of Architectural Theory from Vitruvius to the Present for the revised 2013 edition.

[25] Breitschmid has repeatedly pointed out during lectures that his work on Nietzsche's ideas on building served as the foundation of his book on Non-Referential Architecture.

The manuscript was copyrighted in the USA; the book was published in the original English version and a German translation by Simonett & Baer in Basel in 2018.

Kerez investigated the limits of referentiality and speaks of "non-referential space" as a quality of his contribution to the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2016.

[36] Breitschmid returns to a definition taken from his 2008-book Die Bedeutung der Idee/The Significance of the Idea when he states, "Non-referential architecture denotes but it refuses to explain or narrate and it leaves behind any vestiges of a theatrical mode of persuasion and propagation.

Breitschmid's books, essays, and interviews in such leading journals as El Croquis (2012), Casabella (2008), and a+u (2010 & 2020) positioned Olgiati's work at the forefront of the architectural discourse.

[40] Olgiati filed a civil lawsuit against Breitschmid in the US Federal Court of Western District of Virginia (Case: 7:23-cv-00352) on June 14, 2023.

As court filings indicate, the dispute of the defamation part of the case surrounds the question of architectural licensure and registration of Olgiati in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

A United States District Judge ordered Case 7:23-cv-00352 Valerio Olgiati, Plaintiff v. Markus Breitschmid, Defendant dismissed on October 8, 2024.