Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor, Pritzker laureate 2009, unarguably ranks among the most important contemporary architects. He is revered worldwide for the stringency of his architectural concepts, the clarity of his designs, his sensitiveness for location and context, and for his conscious and careful use of materials. He is celebrated for the pure and atmospheric spaces he has created, such as Kunsthaus Bregenz (Bregenz, Austria), Therme Vals (Vals, Switzerland), Kolumba Art Museum (Cologne, Germany), or in 2011 the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, Hortus Conclusus. Yet his lesser known residential buildings in Switzerland or the Field Chapel for Brother Klaus (near Mechernich, Germany) have also won great acclaim from architectural critics. Zumthor is much admired by students and teachers of architecture alike also for his philosophical approach to the task of building and for his writings on architectural thought. The new five-volume set is the first comprehensive monograph on Zumthor's work in more than fifteen years. Around 40 of his buildings and unrealised projects are presented in detail with brief descriptive texts by Zumthor himself, with photographs, sketches, drawings and plans. A complete list of works 1975-2013 rounds out the book. Photographs are contributed by Helene Binet, Hans Danuser and others.