The works of Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor Presented by Hashita Choudhary

Summer Architecture Tour- II

Architect

-Peter Zumthor

Introduction

About Peter Zumthor Born in to a Swiss family in Basil, Switzerland, Peter

was being trained to be a carpenter by his father until he was sent to study design at Schule für Gestaltung in Basel before he joined the Pratt Institute of New York.

His experience in carpentry is an important part of Zumthor’s life and education. He specialized in cabinet making and also offered consultation services for the preservation of historic or old buildings in Grisons Canton, 1968-1979. .

Studied design at the Kunstgewerbeschule,

Vorkurs, and Fachklasse with further studies in design at Pratt Institute in New York.

Worked as a conservationist architect in the

Department for the Preservation of Monuments in Switzerland.

Architecture career His desire to become an architect starts from his

1967

1979

He was employed by the Canton of

He established his own practice in

Graubünden (Switzerland) in the

Haldenstein, Switzerland where he

Department for the Preservation of

still works with a small staff of

Monuments working as a building

fifteen.

earlier interests in art and design which grow and

and planning consultant and

come to light in the form of architecture later in life.

villages, in addition to realizing

architectural analyst of historical some restorations.

1996

1988-1999

He became a professor at the

He also has been a visiting

Academy of Architecture,

professor at various universities

Universitá della Svizzera Italiana,

like University of Southern

Mendrisio.

California Institute of Architecture in 1988; at the Technische Universität, Munich in 1989; and at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University in 1999.

He has gone from designing phenomenal buildings to teaching architecture and has also been the author of an excellent small book series ‘Thinking Architecture’ and ‘Atmospheres’.

Architectural style and philosophy Zumthor's style of architecture perhaps epitomizes the principles of phenomenology, a belief in the primacy of sensory and

Achievements in architecture

experiential qualities in architecture that is inspired by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger.

1998: The Carlsberg Architecture Prize in Denmark

2006: Thomas Jefferson Foundation

Medal in Architecture from the University

In his own words from his book "Thinking Architecture", he philosophises "I believe that the language of architecture is not a question

of Virginia.

of a specific style. Every building is built for a

2008: The Arnold W. Brunner Memorial

specific use in a specific place and for a

Prize in Architecture

2009: The Pritzker Architecture Prize.

specific society. My buildings try to answer the questions that emerge from these simple facts as precisely and critically as they can.”

About the chapel This chapel was constructed in 2007 in the honor of the patron saint, Bruder Klaus, at the request of an old German couple.

The most intriguing part of the chapel is the method of construction, a wigwam of 112 tree trunks was made and concrete was poured in 24 layers, each 50cm thick.

Once the concrete dried up the tree trunk frame was burned from the inside leaving behind a hollowed blackened cavity and charred walls.

Reason for choosing this project This project takes a physical form of one of his famous quotes, "In order to design buildings with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes far beyond form and construction.”

This building is beyond just an architectural piece, it's an emotional and mystical experience that one goes through when all of their senses are treated with the thought-provoking interior masked by the very rigid rectangular exterior

Location Located on a secluded farm in Iversheimer Str., 53894 Mechernich, Germany, this chapel stands solitary as if in a Bob Ross painting surrounded by green and yellow pastures and wrapped around by scenic hills.

Built Year: 2005-2007

Material and its Properties: The concrete was poured in layers onto a frame of 112 tree trunks, then set to dry, and finally

burned from within so the trunks of the

interior would hollow out the space within and char the walls.

Site context through satellite map :

Surrounding crop fields

On foot pathway from

parking place to the chapel

Mechernich Town

Immediate surroundings around the chapel :

Religious Context The building's context in a cultural and religious aspect is prolific with The Patron Sanit Bruder Klaus's thoughts and ways of living.

It is known that after enlightenment by god, Bruder Klaus, with the support of his wife and children, lived the life of a hermit, building and inhabiting a small oneroom cell and chapel on a piece of his family’s residence. According to records, when he was sixteen years old, he had a vision of a tower descending from the sky and landing on the exact patch of land where his cell and chapel would one day be located.

There are many design details included inside the

chapel, like the sculpture of the saint himself. Yet, the

primary visual element within the chapel is its unglazed tear-drop oculus, which is said to reference a vision

Brother Klaus experienced, of floating in his mother's womb and seeing a massive starburst.

Climate Context Mechernich holds a moderate climate with no excessive heat, cold or humidity.

From July to August the daytime temperature range is 18 to 28 °C and from January to February the range is -2 to 7 °C. In spring and autumn, the daytime temperature range is 8 to 15 °C. Depending on the altitude the temperature range may vary.

Climate Context Due to the moderate climate in Mechernich the chapel directly interacts with the outside weather through the open-to-sky roof inside the chapel. The varied seasons are experienced inside the chapel all year round. the open to sky roof and the holes in the walls are also the only sources of light in the chapel, to give it the complete medieval aesthetic.

The interior charred walls and natural dim lighting within.

The interior being directly connected to nature holds the same weather conditions as the outside.

About the project

Reason for choosing this project

In 2002, world-renowned architect Peter Zumthor was commissioned by the

In this project, Peter Zumthor dares you to

Norwegian Public Roads Administration to

experience and contemplate the lives of

design a tourist route attraction for the

zinc mine workers through an architectural

purpose of welcoming visitors and

lens.

bringing the old mining history of Sauda

His way of merging his buildings into their

back to life. The simplistic buildings are

topographical locations is phenomenal and

inspired by the mining operation, the

something to gaze at. The light wooden

drudgery, and the workers’ strenuous

construction method in itself is a memorial

everyday lives. The installation consists of

to the simple wooden structures that have

a museum building, a café building, toilet

since then disappeared.

and parking facilities, paths, and stairs.

Location The project is located near the Allmannajuvet, which is a ravine or canyon located along the river Storelva in the municipality of Sauda in Rogaland county, Norway.

The ravine is located in a rural, forested area along the Norwegian County Road 520 between the town of Sauda and the village of Hellandsbygda. The project beautifully merges into the dramatic granite cliffs and pine forest around it.

Built Year: 2008-2016

Material and its properties: All the buildings were prefabricated in Saudasjøen and then

assembled in Allmannajuvet. The exterior support system consists of creosote impregnated

laminated wood The exterior walls of the building consist of 18 mm plywood sheets and jute burlap, coated with a German acrylic material (PMMA).

Site Plan : The museum is built in parts in a

linear flowing manner along the road.

520 Main road

Site context through satellite map :

520 road wrapped between

mountain ranges

Immediate surroundings around the museum :

Social & Cultural Context This project was commissioned to commemorate the abandoned zinc mine, which was operated for eighteen years between 1881 and 1899 before the falling price of zinc led to its closure.

The simplistic buildings are inspired by the mining operation, the drudgery, and the workers’ strenuous everyday lives. The panels are painted black internally to suggest the darkness of the old mine’s galleries, and to evoke the former past of the mine site, the pavilions’ roofs and doors are made in zinc, either in the form of corrugated sheets or solid panels.

Climate Context Rogaland is the warmest city in Norway with its highest temperature hitting 18-19 °C. The warmest month in Rogaland is August with the average maximum temperature hitting 19 °C and the coldest month is feburary with the average maximum temperature being 4 °C.

The interior walls have been painted in a dark color to resemble a gallery.

The museum stands atop the hills merging into them beautifully through a scenic drive-through.

About the museum

Reason for choosing this project

To honor the romanesque church of Saint Columbia which was destroyed in World War II Zumthor was given the responsibility to make a museum for the remains. He proposed a thin envelope, which merges itself with the ruins of the church, housing 16 exhibition spaces, a library, a space to worship, with a courtyard, and a sculpture garden. In his proposal, he even included the memorial chapel known as “Madonna of the ruins” designed by Gottfried Bohm.

To me, this project takes up a physical form as a bridge between the world which was lost and the world which is in existence today.

This building in itself is an art form comprising of art within.

Zumthor's ability to merge the ruins with a grey brick facade is an astounding work of architecture.

Location The Kolumba is an art museum in Cologne, Germany. It is located on the former St. Kolumba church site, which was almost destroyed in World War II and replaced in 1950 by a Gottfried Böhm chapel nicknamed the "Madonna of the Ruins". It is one of the oldest museums in the city, alongside the Wallraf-Richartz Museum.

Built Year: 2003-2007

Material and its properties: The bricks for this project were handcrafted and specifically

developed by Petersen Tegl of Denmark. They

were fired with charcoal to imbue a warm hue

Site Plan : FOOD SHOP

GALLERY

ART

STO RE

STORE

STORE STORE

Immediate surroundings around the museum :

Social & Cultural Context After getting bombarded in World War II, most of the St. Kolumba church was destroyed, leaving some exterior walls, the basement of the tower, the entrance hall, and a Gothic statue of Mary and turning them into ruins. In the memory of the church, an octagonalshaped tent-like structure with stained-glass windows and a marble altar was designed by architect Gottfried Bohm.

The light-coloured bricks that wrap and merge with the ruins are a depiction of Zumthor's understanding of the importance that the ruins hold in the rich cultural history of the city.

Climate Context Colgne holds a sub-oceanic climate. Winters are cold but not freezing, while summers are mild or pleasantly warm.

The Atlantic Ocean influences the climate, bringing clouds and rain for much of the year, and cold, unstable air from the North Sea. However, there can also be mild periods in winter, and warm to hot periods from late April to early October, because of air masses coming from the subtropical latitudes of the ocean.

Zumthor has spaced the bricks apart in irregular patterns and perforations allowing the natural light to reflect and refract into the dark memorial generating phenomenological feeling by a mesopic vision of battle ruins. This feeling is amplified by the sensitive use of daylight-white(4000 kelvin) color temperature light with conical pendant fixtures, directing the light of luminaries and maintaining a hard luminance ratio to achieve the lighting standards on the columns of the existing church without hindering the internal atmosphere.

These strips have the functional purpose of allowing a constant cool temperature within the space in order to keep the ruins in a good condition, thus the reason why they were only used for the walls of this space. The room can therefore serve as a shelter against rain, sun heat, and the potentially deteriorating aspects that a city could bring (people’s litter, vandalism, etc). All the pierced strips appear to have the same height, which seems to have been used as a rule to know where they could be placed with respect to the existing walls.

The first floor is a timeless space meaning whatsoever weather is outside; it doesn't affect the indoor lighting condition due to the absence of windows. Zumthor chooses Chip on Board(COB) LED adjustable spotlights for the entire museum.

The second-floor galleries are clustered around a large central flexible gallery. The natural light is allowed to enter from northsouth and west into space which is diffused and spread before entering the flexible room. They provide flexible lighting conditions for exhibits in the gallery. The paintings are placed on the inner walls thus conserving them from prolonged exposure to UV rays.