"I spend such a large amount of time on private homes, almost the same as much larger projects, because it all occurs in the same way to a big project"

-- Peter Zumthor

Photo source: FT.com

Buildings that belong

By Oliver Lowenstein

When the Japan Art Association awarded its much-coveted Praemium Imperiale prize to Swiss architect Peter Zumthor last month, the judges cited the “spirituality” of his designs for cultural, religious and commercial projects. He “earnestly examines the location and purpose of a building and spares no effort in selecting the most suitable materials for it,” they wrote, referring specifically to his sensual, sandstone Kolumba modern art museum in Cologne, Germany, which opened last year, but also obliquely to his two most famous, highly atmospheric, works – the Kunsthaus Bregentz, with its clouded glass façade and stark concrete interiors, and the celebrated Therme Vals spa – both in Switzerland. >>> Read More