Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthoris a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm, he is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionArchitect
Date of Birth26 April 1943
CountrySwitzerland
thinking order design
In order to design buildings with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes far beyond form and construction.
believe ideas space
When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about space and material.
memories essence feelings
In a fragment of a second you can understand: Things you know, things you don’t know, things you don’t know that you don’t know, conscious, unconscious, things which in a fragrant of a second you can react to: we can all imagine why this capacity was given to us as human beings - I guess to survive. Architecture to me has the same kind of capacity. It takes longer to capture, but the essence to me is the same. I call this atmosphere. When you experience a building and it gets to you. It sticks in your memory and your feelings. I guess thats what I am trying to do.
goodbye world architecture
I've said goodbye to the overworked notion that architecture has to save the world.
architecture believe bit building work
I work a little bit like a sculptor. When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about space and material.
architecture
Architecture has its place in the concrete world. This is where it exists. This is where it makes its statement.
buildings core
My buildings should have an emotional core - a space which, in itself, has an emotional nice feeling.
built near
I've built two wooden houses near Vals. I built them for my wife. Those were private projects.
buildings interested mainly vehicles
I'm not mainly interested in what buildings mean as symbols or vehicles for ideas.
basic bit cabin core earth human log provide shelter theater whether
If you look at the Earth without architecture, it's sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter in the broadest sense of the word, whether it's a movie theater or a simple log cabin in the mountains. This is the core of architecture: To provide a space for human beings.
running art father
The first 10 years of my professional life had only to do with running away from my father. He was a wonderful cabinet-maker, and me being the eldest son, I had to take over his shop, his profession and so on and so on. I tried to escape by going to art school and then going on to industrial design and then interior design.
thinking chance architecture
I think the chance of finding beauty is higher if you don't work on it directly. Beauty in architecture is driven by practicality. This is what you learn from studying the old townscapes of the Swiss farmers.
people design arrogance
I design for the use of a building and the place and for the people who use it... the reputation for arrogance comes because when work is offered to me, I look whether I can find a genuine interest in quality.
real quality paper
There is still a real need for good quality architecture, not paper architecture, but the real stuff.