Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthor is a prominent Swiss architect renowned for his minimalist and sensory-focused approach to design. Born on April 26, 1943, in Basel, Switzerland, he initially trained in cabinet making under his father before pursuing formal studies in design and architecture at Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel and the Pratt Institute in New York. Although he never completed the formal accreditation process to become an architect, his exceptional work earned him recognition and the title from Swiss authorities.
Zumthor established his architectural firm in Haldenstein in 1979, producing notable projects primarily in Switzerland, such as the acclaimed Therme Vals thermal baths in 1996 and the St. Benedict Chapel in 1989. His designs often feature a harmonious blend of natural materials, light, and a deep respect for the surrounding environment, exemplified in structures like the Bruder Klaus Chapel and the Kolumba museum in Cologne. With a reputation for being selective about his projects, Zumthor has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious 2009 Pritzker Prize. His work reflects an enduring commitment to creating spaces that engage the senses and resonate with their historical and cultural contexts.
Peter Zumthor
Architect
- Born: April 26, 1943
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Basel, Switzerland
Education: Kunstgewerbeschule, Basel; Pratt Institute, New York
Significance:Peter Zumthor is an award-winning and highly sought-after architect known for his minimalist approach to design. Zumthor uses natural light and carefully chooses materials to create a unique mood for each building project.
Background
Peter Zumthor was born on April 26, 1943, in Basel, Switzerland. He was the oldest son in a large family headed by his father, cabinet maker Oscar Zumthor. As the oldest son, it was expected that Zumthor would continue his father’s business, so he studied cabinet making under his father’s tutelage from 1958 to 1962.
As a means of escaping his father’s profession, in 1963 Zumthor began studying design and architecture at Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel. This was augmented by time spent studying industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York, where Zumthor was an exchange student in 1966. Although he completed his studies at Kunstgewerbeschule, he never finalized the formal process of being accredited as an architect, but the Swiss authorities later granted him the title because they loved his work.
After completing his studies, Zumthor worked as a building and planning consultant and an architectural analyst for the Department for the Preservation of Monuments in the canton (small district) of Graubünden in Switzerland. His tasks included analyzing the historic villages of the area and conducting restorations in some of them. Zumthor credits this experience for his emphasis on the use of rustic materials and practicality that are typical of his work.
Life’s Work
By 1979, Zumthor had established his own architectural firm in Haldenstein, Switzerland. The majority of his early work was close to home in his native Switzerland. In 1983, he designed an elementary school and home in Graubünden, the same area where he studied historical villages while at his first job. He designed his own workshop in this area in 1986; Zumthor and his team of architects continue to work there into the twenty-first century.
In 1989, Zumthor designed the St. Benedict Chapel in Sumvitg, Switzerland, to replace one destroyed by an avalanche. His wedge-shaped design resembles a wooden ship marooned on the steep cliff of the mountainside. The inside, designed to allow a great deal of light through the high windows, resembles a ship’s galley. The chapel even has an intentional creak built into the floor to mimic the sound of walking across an old ship’s floor; such perfectionism is typical of and characterizes Zumthor’s work.
One of Zumthor’s most famous designs was constructed in 1996: the thermal baths at Vals in Graubünden. The structure houses a number of therapeutic baths, all different in design, laid out in a meandering and surprising way along the stone corridors of a building cut into the mountainside. The site became and remains a destination for those seeking to experience the ancient ritual of bathing enjoyed during classical history.
During the mid-1990s, the demand for Zumthor’s work began to spread outside his native country. In 1997, he designed both the Topography of Terror International Exhibition and Documentation Centre built over the site of the Nazi Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, Germany, and the Swiss Pavilion EXPO 2000, in Hannover, Germany. The Topography building was eventually abandoned and torn down when other museums dedicated to the events of World War II were built in the area. Also in 1997, Zumthor designed Kunsthaus Bregenz, an award-winning contemporary art museum in Vorarlberg, Austria.
Zumthor designed the Bruder Klaus Kapelle, or Brother Klaus’s Chapel, which was built in 2007. It was constructed in a remote, wooded area of Mechernich-Wachendorf in Germany for its namesake, who was a hermit. The chapel, built to accommodate just a handful of people, is a simple concrete structure with an opening in the ceiling that allows snow and water to fill a depression in the floor. It has no electricity or running water. Small portholes made of bottle glass allow light in. The structure’s concrete walls bear the imprints of more than 100 large spruce trees that were burned and allowed to leave their marks in charcoal. During the same year, Zumthor created another award-winning museum, the Kolumba, which houses important art for the Catholic Diocese in Cologne, Germany. Some of his other works include the Steilneset Memorial for the Victims of the Witch Trials and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, both completed in 2011; the Werkraum Bregenzerwald building for a contractors and tradesmen's association; the Leis Vacation Homes, a group of three houses rented to tourists, completed in 2013; the Allmannajuvet Rest Area and Museum at the site of a former Norwegian zinc mine, opened in 2016; a retreat home in Devon, England, completed in 2018 and open to tourists; and the David Geffen Galleries at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), opened in 2024.
While Zumthor’s services are in great demand, over the years the architect has earned a reputation for being choosy about his projects. He has frequently turned down requests to design homes for celebrities and world leaders.
Zumthor has created fewer than two dozen structures throughout his life, including his own home and studio, but he is one of the most highly awarded architects in history. He has won awards in his native Switzerland and Germany, where most of his work is, as well as in Austria, Italy, England, the United States, and Japan. His awards include the 2009 Pritzker Architectural Prize, the international award given each year for architecture, as well as the 2013 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Royal Gold Award.
Impact
Zumthor has received worldwide recognition for his uncompromising efforts to incorporate a full aesthetic of sight, sound, and physical sensation into his designs. His projects show his respect for the environment in which they are located by blending modern and minimalistic elements with the history and location of each structure.
Personal
Zumthor is married to Annalisa Zumthor-Cuorad, also from Switzerland. They have three children—Anna Katharina, Peter Conradin, and Jon Paulin—as well as several grandchildren.
Bibliography
Kimmelman, Michael. "The Ascension of Peter Zumthor." The New York Times Magazine, Mar. 2011. Web. 17 June 2016.
Merin, Gili. "Peter Zumthor: Seven Personal Observations on Presence In Architecture." Arch Daily, Dec. 2013. Web. 17 June 2016.
Moore, Rowan. "Peter Zumthor: In Pursuit of Perfection." The Guardian.June 2011. Web. 17 June 2016.
"Peter Zumthor." The Pritzker Architecture Prize Official Website, 2009. Web. 17 June 2016.
"Peter Zumthor." Architecture.com, 2013. Web. 17 June 2016.
"The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA." Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013. Web. 17 June 2016.
Wainwright, Oliver. "Peter Zumthor: RIBA Awards Gold Medal to Architecture’s Man of Mystery." The Guardian, Feb. 2013. Web. 17 June 2016.