Peter Zumthor on Different Kinds of Silence
There are many influential forces on our thoughts on space, light, air, and sound that we draw upon when designing a retail concept and proposing a retail vision. Few have influenced our appreciation of environment as much as Architect Peter Zumthor. In this extensive and rare biographical video interview he tells the captivating story of his childhood, his studies in NYC and his parents’ strong influence.
Zumthor – who works from the small town of Haldenstein in Switzerland – likes being outside the big centres of the world, as it frees him of having to consider the opinions of his fellow colleagues: “If you work like an artist, you need your own separate space.” He does, however, also work well in the “anonymous sound” of a city, where it is also possible to find calm in “a protective ocean of sound.” There are, Zumthor feels, different kinds of silence, and finding one’s mental silence – being able to concentrate – is what is most important in order to work well.
“If you look at the Earth without architecture, it’s sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter in the broadest sense of the word, whether it’s a movie theater or a simple log cabin in the mountains. This is the core of architecture: To provide a space for human beings.”
KOLUMBA MUSEUM, COLOGNE
BRUDER KLAUS FIELD CHAPEL, GERMANY
BRUDER KLAUS FIELD CHAPEL INTERIOR, GERMANY
For more about Peter Zumthor see :zumthor.tumblr.com/