|
A “humble” work but without compromise, timeless structures integrated in full respect for the environment convinced the jury of the most prestigious prize in architecture. “His buildings have an imposing presence, showing us time and again that modesty in approach and audacity in result are not mutually exclusive", the jury emphasised. One of the jury members Carlos Jimenez adds "his work reminds us that there is a luxury in architecture which has nothing to do with extravagant budgets or unusual formal affectation."
Peter Zumthor was born in Bâle in 1943 and opened his agency just thirty years later after studying architecture in Switzerland then New York and working on building restoration projects on historical buildings in the canton of Grisons. At the end of 1996, completion of Vals Thermal Baths in Switzerland catapulted him into the foreground of architecture. Dedicated to the ritual of the Baths, this magical place made up of sensory experiences reflects the entire thought of Peter Zumthor. The architect has partially buried in the side of a hill a concrete structure and incrusted all the visible vertical surfaces with thousands of finely chiselled quartzite patches. Fitting the water rooms like caves, cut out in places against the majestic view of the mountains, the grassed roof building creates the illusion of spaces cut out in the mass. “Linked and sealed, the flags and the concrete of the walls form a huge and static construction, a composite work. Inspired by the old supporting walls of the mountain roads, this wall construction was specially developed for this building. There are no stone lining panels. The homogenous superimposition of stones, uninterrupted layers of stone, give the building a monolithic aspect. The elevation of the floors, the floor of the swimming pools, the ceilings, the stairs, stone banks and door openings obey the same principle of continuous superimposition."
For the Bregenz Kunsthaus in Austria (1997), Peter Zumthor chose glass. Large polished glass scales cover the four faces making a diaphanous skin echoing the changing lights of reflections from the lake. The architect’s choice gives the building the appearance of a monolith protected by a fragile envelope.
Confronted with the profusion of high tech which flourished at the Hanover Expo for the whole summer of 2000 Peter Zumthor gave the Swiss pavilion an apparent simplicity. It is not a pavilion in the strict sense but an atmosphere amplifying sounds and music. “Above all I did not want to create a stand for the economic promotion of Switzerland or its tourism” Peter Zumthor said then. Remember the imposing 3000 m3 cube of wood, just piled up without nails or glue, a tie rod system keeping the nine metre beams together.
Dedicated to a XV century hermit, the Bruder Klaus chapel (2007) built in the middle of the fields to the south of Cologne, embodies the profound religious commitment of a local farmer. A strange and strong piece of work. To build it the architect assembled 12 m tree trunks into a giant tepee, covered it all in rough concrete made by hand on site and then burned the trunks. The result is striking. Inside the walls bear the trace of the blackened framework. The parallelogram shape terminates in an oculus onto the sky. Glass eyes are set in the props to provide the stained glass.
On the ruins of a gothic church destroyed during the Second World War, Peter Zumthor built the Kolumba museum to house the collection of the Cologne archdiocese art collection. Its very particular fitting of bricks and its “superimposed” frontal is spectacular. The brick work can be compared to a knitted work, a "brick pullover" according to Zumthor. The lighting and temperature conditions are perfect for protecting the art collections. The museum won the Wieneberger Brick Awards and pushes its spiritual strength into the natural light that bathes the rooms.
In his book Thinking Architecture, Peter Zumthor defends a poetics which goes beyond the form and construction of a building; the architect evokes a precise and sensual implementation of the materials. “It seems to be anchored in the ancient knowledge on how man used the material, but at the same time reveal the essence of the material that is free of any inherited meaning of a culture. In my work I try to use materials in a similar way, he adds. Architecture maintains a particularly physical relationship with life. According to my conception of it, it is not first of all a message, nor a sign, but an envelope, a background for life passing, a subtle receptacle for the rhythm of footsteps on the ground, concentration on work, peaceful sleep." Now, as before when his Vals Thermal Baths project had placed him in the rank of highest profile architects, this carpenter’s son has never considered himself a star. His creations and his team remain on a small scale. |
|
