Peter Zumthor (born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect and winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Read full biography of Peter Zumthor →
I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated it.
My relationship to plants becomes closer and closer. They make me quiet; I like to be in their company.
I'm not mainly interested in what buildings mean as symbols or vehicles for ideas.
Architecture to me is whole. I cannot say I only care about this 25% and the other 75% I let go... it's just I want to work the way I want to... →
I need a close contact to the client, whoever it is, and a commitment of the client to go out and do a process together. I want to do the best for... →
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... →
What I try to do is the art of building, and the art of building is the art of construction; it is not only about forms and shapes and images.
If, early on, you know how things are put together, then you can build. The architect is in charge of making - he is not an artist.
There is still a real need for good quality architecture, not paper architecture, but the real stuff.
In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its own... →
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... →
If I look at history, it seems that most wars and most cruel things have been done by men and not by women.
Architecture has its place in the concrete world. This is where it exists. This is where it makes its statement.
Peter Zumthor (born 26 April 1943) is a Swiss architect and winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013 RIBA Royal Gold Medal.