Need an account? Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Thinking Architecture Peter Zumthor 0. A short summary of this paper. Download Download PDF. Translate PDF. Some ofthe other images haye to do with my chlldhood-There was a t me when I experienced architecture withour. I used to tal e hold of r when I went into my aunt's garden. That door hand e sti seems to me lil e a special sign of entry into a world of dif- fcrent moods and snrells.
There w rr no liin! I explore in my work as an architect. And a rhough I cannot trace any special forms,there is a h nt of fullness and of richness that makes me think:this have seen before.
Whrt lnpresscs me is rhc prc. At the point in tlrne when concrete materla s are assem- The sense that I try ro instlll into mater als is beyond alL rlles of com- bled and erected, the architecru. I try to design buiLdings that are worthy of in thls one bu lding. Good answers to these questlons can throw new light on both iecr.
The notlon that our work is an integml part ofwhat we accomplish the way in which the material ls generally used and its own inherent Lr es us to the very limits of our muslngs abolt the value of a work of sensuous qualities. Are the eftort and sl il we put into them lf lve succeed in this, materlak in architecture can be made to shine rcilly inherent parts of the things we make? Worl within things It is said that one of the mos!
The s ow nrovemcnts of l"lozi ts piifo conccrros,lohn lohann Sebastian Bach is its"architeclLrrel hs consrru. There is disharmony and broken rhyth m, fragments and lf. Contemporary music works with these elements. But there are limits. The portraya no longer holds so! I do not think of it primarily as either a message or a symbol, but see emerges, and I stoP before inessentials start detracting from jts as an envelope and backSround for life which goes on in and arolnd t, mpact.
The drawing icself must take on the quality ofthe sought-for ob- 'o the. This is where it exists. This is where ir makes its statement. Bui d rgs :rre arlific a constr ucrions. They consist of single Pafts which Architectlra drawings rry! The direct,seemingy self-evident way in which these objects are fur logether is! There is no interruption of the overall im- prcssion by small parts th:t have nothing to do wlth the object!
Our perception of the whole is not distracted by inessential de- riils. Evcry touch, every join, every joint is there in order to reinforce l lic idea of the quiet presence of the worl. How- vqt un lke rhe sculptor, I have to start with functional and technical re- ,tL, rcmenrs rhat represent the fundamentn tasl I have to fulfill. Archi' r, rrurc is always faced with the challenge of developing n whole out of ,i,i,,nrerib e details,out ofvarious functions nnd forms, materials and di- ,ir nsiofs.
The architect must ook for rational consrructions and forms 1,,, , lgcs and joints,for Lhe points where suffaces intersect and differ- , rrr rrrrrcrirls meet. These formal deta ls derermine the sensitive tran-. The detai s estab- ,1, rlic lornril rhytlrr, the blr ldings f nely fracrionared sca e. The obiects we It is as if we slccumb to the rnagic of the fully deve oped architectural perceive have no message for Lrsithey are simPly there.
Our percePtlve body. Emotlons well up. Something moves us. Here, in thls per- ccprra vacuum, a memory may surface, a mernory thac seems to lssue Beyond the symbols nom rhe deprhs oftime.
Nowour observation of the object enrbraces ''Anything goesl' say the doers. These statements stand for con- to llrcrc is a power ln the ord nary things of everyday life, as Edward rradiclory opinions, if not for contradictory frcts.
We get! Wc only have to look at chem lonS ing with contradictions and rhere are several reason for this:tradltions crumble, and with chem cu tu. Ever ,thing merges jnto eve.
Arbitmr ness prevails. I ltr. We do no! These buildings ippear ro be anchored firm- unrea. The world is full of signs and info rmarion, which stand for th ngs r ' ' rli,, , ound.
They g ve rhe impress on of bcing a self-evident parc that no one fully Lrnderstands becalse they, too. Yet the rea thing remains hiddef. No one ever I r1,,,! Neverthe ess, I anr convinced thnt real things do exjst, ,,,, I l' ,, r lio cl' 1,,v,. There are earlh and water, rhe ight of the sun,lindscapes and vescr. We throw a srone is inherent in man made things. Sand swirls up and settles again. The stir was necessary. But the pond is no longer the same.
The house had no entrance. Since our fee ings and understanding are rooted in the past,our sensu- I thinl that the hidden structures and constructions of a house should ous connections with a building must respect the process of remem- be organized in such a way that they endow the body of the building bering.
This is howvio lns are made. Various possibilities lead to and meet in the act of re- menberi'rg. Io ms. Worl ing drawings are detailed and objectve. Cre- lr,ry t osscss Lhe qua itles of a work of art.
They do not try to con- wrrlr inli8hts end understand fg, and ibovc. Perhaps po vince and imprcss like projec! They seem to be saying:"Thls!. They revea something , nr rii,! When I permit subjectlve and unconsid- ered ideas to lntervene in the objectlve course of the design process, I acknowledge rhe siSnificance of personal fee lngs in my worl.
Tlrc design prccess is based on a constant interplayoJ feeling and rea ion. The fee ings, preferences. To a large degree, designinS is based on understandlng. With the sud 'l,r cmcrgcnce ofan inner image,a new lne in a dmwlng, the whole y fo.
Everyth ng I knew ' 1,,l, ,. Geometry can help us understand how to han- which a val d solut on has not already been found. We the closed archlrectural body that isolates space within itsell:nd the regarded architecrural history as part of our genera education, which open bodythat embrales.!
Thus, we frequenty ln' contin!! The extension of space can be made visible through ,eldless vented what had a ready been invented, and we tried our hand at in- bodies such as slabs or poles placed freely or in rows ln the spatial ex- venting.
Thls l lnd oftraining in design ls not without its educational value. Latei I do not claim to know what space really is. The longer I think nbout it, howeyer,as practicing architects,we do wellto get acquainted with lhe the nrore mysterious it becomes. About one thing, holvever,I am sure: cnormous repository of knowledge and experience contained in the when we, as architecB, are concerned with space, we concerned "re history of archicecture. On rhe of my design.
I dmw spatia diagrams and simple volumes. NothinS can thlnl of seems to ta ly lvith exactly how they define and separate an area of interior space from whir I wnnt and cannot yet env sage. This helps. They embrace the mysterious void ca led space in a special way and make i! At tllc rronrcnt ot its crc. Whcn lwis stillrt. Our r mes of change and rransidon do no! We r-ernain in the same room with rhe same people throughout, wh le time goes by afd rhe dancers grow older.
The focus of the film is on rs main characrers. But cal mlnd, tend to stray and lool for deta ls to hold on to. But the syn- try to forget both these physical traces and my own first associatlons, what remalns ls a different imPression, a deePer feelng-a conscious- rhes s ofthewhole does not become comprehenslble through isolated ofthe human lives that have been dctais. Everythlng refers to everything. The mod mornents, a. The new bullding sty istic and historical slgnificance a.
Architecture ls ex rssumes che foca position and is itsell ts history begins. I l clicve that architecture today needs to reflect on the tasks and pos- Steps left behind il il r es which are inherent y its own. Archirecture is not a vehic e or a.
My bllldinSs cry to answer the questions thrt emerge visual forms and atmospheres. Th s phrasc caughr nry atrefrlof. I ike rhe ider that be:tuty has , rid core. Will ams s suPPosed to have sn d. And I n ,r. Lrrlir iLL l,L', i rrlf Lr, ilr! Ita o Calvlro te ls us in his lezionj omericdne about the ltalian poer Gi App led! He works out conceprs and structures and then less layers of meaning that overlap and interweave, and that chanSe as rrs rhem performed!
Can vasueness and openness be planned? L,il content in terms of exisr ng architecture. Bcd which surprised us. Consequently,l find that can Preconcelved images and stylistcaly Pre-fnbricated forma idioms are unde.
The rwo archllects derive f. Handl e aLso speaks, in this contexr, offideLlty to things. He would Personally,I stlll believe in the self sufficient. Pp ementary colorlng. SriLcments of dr s kifd he p me to come to terms w th rhe dissatisfac- Yet how are we to ach eve this wholeness ln arch tecture at atime when ror otlen experence when lcontemPate recent architecture.
Peter Handke wrtes of his endeavors to make rexts and descriPtions il,. Good irchire. L, I I belicvc thit if rrtisl c piocesscs st iv. Jrc r l.. Irri,LIi ,! Say that it is a c.! Pinl ye lows. Too mlch as they ire! This ls the begnning of che poem 8olguer ofRoses in Sunlight by rhe American poe! Calvno spaces is based on his dwe ling ln! Reality was rhe goal to which Stevens :spired. He pointed outthat the concrere buidlng assignmenr relar ng to che acr or slate of dwell- to porcray a shell playing an accordlof is to invent, nor discover.
And so ng that incerests me nnd Lrpon which I wish to concenrrate my magi- it crops up once again, rhis fundamental thought that I seem to find in narive facuhies. And this is no rfd spnces come ln. There arc no ldeas except in things. One key to che answer lies, I believe, in che words pla. I do not work towards archi- tecturefrom a theoretically defined point ofdeparture. And when I reflecton whether lhave since added new imag-.
Plnc6s I llvo and work in Graub0nden, in a farminSvillage surrounded by moun- tnlni. I sometimes wonder whether this has influenced my work, and tlrc thoutht that it probably has is nor unpleasanr. I carry with ,,,c irs nner vislons of sPeclfic moods and q! At other! I need them, for 11 s only when I confront and comPare the essentials of different P ac- ,,..
And when we recalled b! And whereas we knew almost at speal s of the world as a whole. Our artempt to generalize seemed to rob the individual build- the world and the emanations of contemporary life. I considered the proiect interesting in many ways. I mentioned severaL of its specific qualities 2 The main rooms of the sma I mountain hotel overlooked the va ley and added that some time previously I had laid aslde my positive prej!
And I had come to the conclus on that, r lic corridor and connected by a doorThe smaller of them looked like a as a whole,l did not rea ly like it. We discussed the possible reasons for , ,rrforrable p ace in which to sit and read, and the larger one, with five my impression and came up wlth a few details wthout arriving at a val- w.
On ld conclusion. And then one of rhe younger members of the group, a l lir f,, rr-lloor chere were bedrooms wich deep,shady wooden balconies, talented and usually rationa ly minded arch tect, said:"lt is an lnterest- ,ri rhc sccond floor mo e bcdrooms open ng onto terraces. The rrou- I wi,Lr l cnioy lookin8 irt rhc open sky ffom the upper rooms,l lholght, ble is,it has no soull'.
L wr ipproached rhe horcl for drc first irnrc But ihc. The smellofthe my needs, th s mounlain hote always comes to mnd. There were deck chairs 3 OLrr first impression ofthe ou! We were nor dlsapPointed Enterlng thFough woman sitting ln a decl chalr, readlng. We Picl ed up rwo of the chairs dre narrow porch,which,as itturned out,was b!
During the day we usually dmnk o'rr h fd the main door like a wooden shed, we found ourselves in ;r l:rrge. They were hinged at. The gloom soon Save way to a mood of other veranda tab es, placed in a row against lhe facade and Protected lt,,ftleness.
Once,after lhe evening rneal, A! On sunny mo. No douht rbo'rt l rl, nshr. L,ir tl ro st. We hesitated and finally decided on a rable in the almost empty nrair ered by concrete slabs on steel columns, and the regular arrangement part of the hal. We atwhich we could onlyguess. The windows were set high up in the wals and ,b. We came across a large meta Ar the nexr tab e rwo women were ho ding an animated conversation. Neither rooms. The voices of the peo- room with desks and a blackboard.
The wa ls p e in the group ar the nexr tab e but one sounded pleasantly far away. Occupied as lwas with my own activ- rndustrial precast concrere co nstructlon s, or its spac;ousness,or its lack ities, my gaze nevertheless a lghted occasionaly on other faces,and I re- of rhe pedantic refnements rhat abound ln schools in Switzerland.
Once aga n,I resolved to begin my work we all lool ed our best. Barely iny crees, k. I chose lighr- di coored ash for my bed and clpboard,and I made drem so that they I looked good on allsides,with tre sxme wood ard rhe same carefulworl bicl and front.
I disregarded the us! Sccf lf cross scction. L rri.. We hand e th s stone sculpture with the utmost care, for the ha I ns great as I remembered ir, afd I was disappointed by the dull even at this stage it is already almost the whole buildinS We design the ghr on the wall paneling.
I have never been a good observer, and I have never really wnnted ioints arisins duringthe section-wise casting ofthe concrete wil dis:P- ro bc. I I ke absorblng moods, moving in sparial s tuarions,and I am satis- pear into the network.
The thin steel frames Proiecrlng from the stone fcd when llm able ro reta n a feeling,a sLrong genera impression from il e b ades in the middle ofthe door are intended to hold the wings of which can later extract detalls as from a palnt n8,and when lcan won- the doors.
Even when I our materials, the way we develoP the join. The difierence in the floor leve s of the niche and the ha I they want us to bu ld more cheaply. Perhaps it even d d exist once and was ater re' When I! Or,lf it was never there, perhaps l. He tried to sound me out by means of clevei unexpected questions. What did I think abour dr hIecLUre. The tape recorder was on. I did my best. At the end of the interview.
I realized that I was not really satis- fied with my answers. Lnter that evening,l talked to a friend aboutAki Kaurismekil latest film. I admire the director's empathy and respect for his chancters. Kaurismeklk art lends his films a feeling of warmth, I cold my colleague and then I knew what it was I would have liked ro have said on the tape this morning.
Abundanr muted lL8ht. B right accen ts on the recep- rlon desks, ditferent kinds of naturil slone ln niches n the wall. Peo- plo iscending the graceful stairway to tlro orclrclinS gallery stood out iSnlns! There are only good scats here. ChristopherAlexander,who speaks n Pdft. Lloydwrght drar nrrdc aSrext inrpress on on hcr, said H. The old lady was stil lving rhcrc. Thc-c was lro need for nre to go and see the housc, I rhought. I srL d ed the documents dcso lbing t a smalL red house n a rural setting, a barn converted fto a dwe ng which lrad beef en arged by rhe irchire.
Thc cx i' l, rens on was a success,l rho! Akholgh you co! The window opc r fgs wcrc scn! Tlrc rcw pirrs of c ho!
L,r ncwwlrol, l N,,rl[,r,'" ,'rli,,it.. We agreed that we could not awad agonal line of Broadway, the coaslal lnes of the perjnsu a. The bu ld- th s conversion a prize for design forthat,itsarchitecrura cialmslvere ifgs, pacl ed densely ln cheir right angled Srid,looming up in rhe sky,ln- too modest.
Yet I enioy th nl ing bacl on the sma red house. The rhe destruction of the Second world War Previously used as an em n! Hard and se f-assured, che exten en houses for a long time. At once,lhad a menca image of a house-sized block of solid t m- rnre rhat alLrded to the o d main bullding while maintaining i d scifct, ber,a dense volume made of the biological subs.
A house il e this would change I fo! A new arch tectural whole emeEed at each stage wood, mother, and materia were simiar: modera, modre, moterio. We i,frrs dcvc opment. Historlcalincongruities were not architectural y re- star.
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