Product Description

"In order to design buildings with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes far beyond form and construction." So writes Peter Zumthor in Thinking Architecture, his seminal 1998 publication that quickly sold out and has been unavailable for years. This new edition includes three new essays: "Does Beauty Have a Form?," "The Magic of the Real," and "Light in the Landscape." Not only has the book been redesigned by noted typographer Hannele Gr nlund, it has also been illustrated throughout with color photographs by Laura Padgett of Zumthor's new home and studio in Haldenstein, taken especially for this edition. In Thinking Architecture, Zumthor expresses his motivation in designing buildings that speak to our feelings and understanding in so many ways and that possess a powerful and unmistakable presence and personality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27334 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

Language Notes
Text: German

Customer Reviews

clear thinker and builder
Reading this book was like reading a long-lost secret manual of
"How to become a 21 century Samurai..." I guess that sense of delusion rises because the content and the tone of book has this (quasi) idea of medieval perfection achieved through a repetition of hands-on practice. "I do not work towards architecture from a theoretically defined point of departure, for I am committed to making architecture,," writes Zumthor.

Moreover, a reader, at the back of her/his head, has those powerful images of Bath House in Vaals (tour de force of phenomenological experience) that intensifies the delusion. One would think, 'Zumthor must be a man from Mars to build architecture like that' and 'his writings must be a strong sleeping pill.' Usual Suspect !

He writes extremely clear with extremely simple terms. This slim book tells us how an architect of such originality thinks and experiences daily life. It's a great pleasure to find out what kind of music (Mozart's piano concertos) zumthor listens; what kind of artists (Beuys and Merz) he likes; what kind of film he watches (Ettore Scola's film Le Bal); what kind of books (Calvino) he reads; and what kind of sayings ("the hard core beauty") in the radio show captivates him. A former cabinet maker, his book is carefully jointed, just like his buildings. Anyone who found this book fun/inspiring to read should also try Alvaro Siza's "Writings on Architecture"

Highly recommended
A thoroughly engaging book about meaningful architecture - it now holds a very special place in my architecture library, right next to Michael Benedikt's For An Architecture of Reality.
Excellent for anyone interested in Peter Zumthor's work.

Source of Rationality
It reflects the knowledge of a big architect that Zumthor is, one thousand words that make you learn a diferent way to look at things and to create a rational way of thinking about architecture.