Peter Zumthor

Thinking Architecture
PETER
ZUMTHOR

THINKING
ARCHITECTURE

BIRKHAUSER - PUBLISHERS FOR ARCHITECTURE

BASEL BOSTON BERLIN
A way of looking at things 9

The hard core of beauty 27

From passion for things to the things themselves 35

The body of architecture 48

Teaching architecture, learning architecture 57

A way of looking at things
1988

In search of the lost architecture

When I think about arrh itccture, images come into my mind. Many
of these images arc connected with my training and work as an
architect. Th ey contain th e professional knowledge about architec-
ture th at I have gath e red over the years. Some of the oth<'r images
have lo do with my c hildhood. Th e re was a time when I e xperi enced
architecture without thinking about it. ometimes I ca n almost feel
a particu lar door handle in my han d, a piece of metal shaped like
the back of a s poon.
I used to lake ho ld of it whe n 1 went into my aunt's garden. That
door hand le still see ms to me like a pecial sign of entry into a
world of diffe rent moods and sme lls. I re membe r the sound of th e
grave l und e r my feet, th e soft gleam of the waxed oak stai rcase,
I can hea r the heavy front door closing be h ind me as I wa lk a long
th e dark corridor and e nter the kitche n, th e only really brightly
lit room in the house.
Loo king bac k, it see ms as if this was the only room in the house
in whic h th e ceiling did not d isa ppea r into twil ight; the small
hexago na l tiles of th e noor, dark red and fitted so tig htly togeth er
that the c racks be t\\ een them were almost imperceptible, were
hard and unyielding und er my feet, and a sm ell of oi l pa int issued
from th e kitchen cupboard.
Everything about this kitch e n wa typical of a traditional
kitc he n. The re was nothing special abo ut it. But perhaps it was just
the fact t hat it was so very muc h, so very natura ll y, a kitchen that
has imprinted its memory inde libly o n my mind. Th e atmosphere of
this roo m is insolubly linked with my idea of a kitchen.

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 No" I feel like go ing on and talkin g about th r door handlrs
whirh <'a mc aftrr thr handl e on my aunt's gard r n gate, aboul thr
gro und and th r flo ors, about th e soft asphalt warmed b) thr un ,
about the paving stones fO\rre d \\ith rhrstnut leaves in th e
autumn, and about all thr doo rs which closed in s uch diff<'rrnt
wa) S, o nr repl rte a nd dignified, a nothrr \\ith a thin , e hl'a p r latter,
others hard , impla ca bl e and intimidating ...
Mcmoril.'s likr these con ta in the decprst arr hitcetura l cxprrirn cc
that I know. They a re thr rrservoirs of the architectural atmos-
ph e res and im ages that I rx plorc in my work as an arc hitect.
\Vh rn I design a building, I frequ e ntly find mysclf" sinking into
o ld, half-forgotten memori es, and thrn I try to rrcollert ''hat
thr rr me mbcrcd architectura l situati o n was rea lly like, what it
had meant to me at the time, and I try to think how it cou ld he lp
me no\\ to rcviH' that vibrant atmosphere pervaded by th e simpl e
prese nce of th ings, in which everythin g ha d its own specific pla ce
a nd form. And a lthough I can not trace any specia l form s, there is a
hint o f fullness and of richness which makes me think: this I h ave
Sl.'l.'n before. Yct, at the sa me t ime , I know that it is a ll new a nd
diffcrrnt, and that there is no direct refe rence to a formrr work
of a re hitccture ''hi c h mig ht di,ulgr the secre t of thr memo ry-
lade n mood.
Made of materials
To me, there is so mething revea ling a hout th e work of Josl'ph
Beu) S an d somr of th e artists of the Arte Povera group. Wh at
impresses me is thr prec ise and sens uou s way th ey use ma tl'ri -
a ls. It seems anchored in an ancient, e lemental know led ge about
man 's use of matr ria ls, and at th e samr time to expose the very
esscnee of thesl' mate rial s whieh is hcyon cl a ll cultura lly conveyed
meaning.
10
I try to U $<' materials likr this in my work. I brlinc that lhty can
assume a portie quality in the l'Onlrxt of an a rch itrctural objPct,
a lthough onl) if tlw arehi tect is ahlr to generate a meaningful situ-
ation for tlwm , since matrrials in tlwmsc h es a re not poetic.
Th e sense' that I try to instill into material s is bryond all rules of
eomposition. and thei r tangibilit) , mell and aeoustic qualit iC's are
mrrf'ly elrnw nt s of the language that we arr obligrd to w.r. Se nse
emerges whrn I suC'ceed in bringing o ut thr s peeifi<' meanings of
ecrtain matrrials in m~ bui ld ings. meanings that can on ly be
perceived in just thi s way in thi s one buildin g.
If we work towards this goal, wr must co nstant ly ask o urse lves
"hat th e use of a parti cu lar material could mran in a spccifir archi-
tectural co ntext. Good answers to these questions can throw new
li gh t onto both the way in which thr material is ge nrra ll y usrd and
its own in h r ren t se nsuou s qualities.
If we suecrcd in this , materials in arc hitecture can be made to
shine and vibrate.
Work within things
It is sa id th at o ne of t he m ost imprcs ivc things abou t the music of
,Johann Sebastian Bach is its "arch it ecture." Its constructi o n seems
clear and transparent. It is possible to pursue the details of th e
melodic, harm onic and rhythmi ca l f' lem cnts "ithout losing the
fee ling for thf' com position as a whole - thr who le whic h makes
se nse of th e details. The music seems to be based upon a clear
structure, and if \IC trace the indi' idua l th reads of the mus ical
fab ric it is possible to a ppre he nd the ru les that govern the stru cture
of the mu sic.
Construct ion is the art of making a mcaningful ,~hole out of man y
parts. Buildings arc witncssrs to tlw hum a n a bility t o construct
C'Oncrt>tc thin gs. I believe t hat th!' real co re of a ll a rc hitectural
\1ork lies in the act of C'Onst ru cti on. At the point in time \1hen con-
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c ret<' mate ria ls a rc assembled a nd e rected, th e a rc hit<'cture we as soo n as we unde rsta nd its statc mr nt o ur r u riosity dies, a nd a ll

have bee n loo ki ng fo r becomes pa rt of the real world . th at is left is t he questi o n of the building's practica l usefuln ess.

I fee l respect fo r the a rt of joi ning, the a bil ity o f cra ftsmen and Arc hit ecture has its ow n rea lm . It has a specia l physica l re lati on-

e ngin ee rs. I a m im pressed by th e kn owledge o f how to ma ke th ings, ship with life. I do not t hi n k of it prima r ily as eithe r a message o r a

wh ich lies at th e bottom of hum a n s kill. I try to design bu ildi ngs symbol, but as a n e nve lope a nd bac kgroun d fo r life whi c h goes o n

th at a rc wo rt hy of this kn owledge an d me rit th e cha lle nge to t his in a nd around it, a sensi ti ve conta in<' r for the rhythm of foo tste ps

skill. on t he Ooor, fo r th e conce ntra ti o n of wo rk , fo r the sile nce of slee p.

Peo plr oft e n say, "A lot of work we nt into this" whe n they se nse
the ca re a nd skill that its ma ke r h as lavishe d o n a care full y con-
stru ct<'d o bj ect. The noti on that our work is a n integra l pa rt o f Preliminary promises
wh at we acco mpl is h takes us to th e ve ry limi ts of ou r musings In its fin a l, constru cte d form , a rchitecture has its place in the co n-

abo ut the va lue o f a wo rk of art, a work of a rc hitecture. Arc th e cre te wo rld . Thi s is wh e re it ex ists. This is whe re it ma kes its state-

effo rt and skill we put into th e m reall y inh ere nt pa rts of the things me nt. Portraya ls of as yet unrea li zed a rc hi tectura l works represe nt

we make? So metimes, whe n I am moved by a wo rk o f a rch itecture an a tte m pt to give a voice to something wh ich ha not yet fo und its

in th e same way as I am moved by mu sic, li terature o r a painting, pl ace in the co nc rete world fo r whi c h it is mea nt. Arc hitectu ra l

I a m te mpted to thi nk so. drawings try to ex press as accu rate ly as possi ble the aura of the
build ing in its inte nde d place. But precisely th e effort of the por-
traya l ofte n serves to und e rl ine the a bsence of t he actu al object,
For the silence of sleep a nd what the n e merges is a n awa re ness of the inadequ acy of a ny

I love mu sic. Th e slow move me nts o f th e Moza rt pi ano concertos, kind of portrayal, curi osity a bo ut th e rea li ty it prom ises, and

John Co ltra ne's balla ds, or th e sound of th e hum a n vo ice in ce rtain pe rha ps - if the promise has the powe r to move us - a longing for

son gs a ll move me . its presence.

Th e hum an a bili ty to inve nt me lodies, ha rmo ni cs, a nd rh ythms If the natura lism and graphi c virtuosity of a rc hitectural po rtray-

amazes me. a ls a re too great, if they lack "open patc hes" wh e re our imaginatio n

But th e world of sound a lso e mbraces th e opposite of me lody, a nd curiosity a bout th e rea lity of t he drawing ca n pe netrate t he

ha rmony, a nd rh ythm . T here is di sharmo ny a nd broke n rhythm , image, the portrayal itself becomes th e o bject of our desire, a nd ou r

fr agme nts a nd clusters of sou nd, a nd th ere is a lso th e pure ly fu nc- longing fo r the rea lity wanes beca use th ere i little or nothing in

tiona l sou nd th at we ca ll noise. Conte mporary mu sic works wi t h t he representation th at points to t he inten de d rea li ty beyond it. Th e
th ese elc mr nts. portraya l no longer h olds a promise. It refer o nly to itself.

Contemporary architecture s hould be just as radi ca l as co nte m- Des ign dra wings t hat re fe r to a rea lity whi ch still li es 111 th e

pora ry music. But the re a rc li m its. Although a work of a r<'h itccture fut ure a rc imp<lrtant in my work. I continu e workin g on my d rawings

based o n di sha rm ony a nd fragmenta tion, on broke n rhythms, c lu s- until th ey reach t he de licate po int of re prese nta ti on wh e n the pre-
tering an d structural di srupti ons may be a ble to co nvey a message, va iling mood I see k e me rges, a nd I stop befo re in essenti a ls start

12 13
detracting from its impact. The drawing itse lf must lake on the qua l-
ity of th e so ug ht-for object. It is like a s ke tc h hy a sculpt o r for hi s
sc ulpture, not mere ly a n illu stration of a n id ea hut an innate pa rt of
t he work of c reation , whi c h e nd s with th e constru cted o bject.
Th ese so rt of drawings Pnabl e us to ste p ba ck, to look, a nd to
lea rn to unde rstand that wh ic h has not yet come into being a nd
whi ch has just sta rted to e merge.

Chinks in sealed objects

Buildings are a rtifi cial constructions. Th ey co nsist of single parts
wh ich must be joined together. To a la rge degree, th e qua li ty of th e
finish ed obj ect is determin ed by th e qu a lity of the joins.
In sculpture, there is a tradition whi c h minimi ses th e express ion
of t he joi nts and joins be twee n th e single parts in favou r o f t he
ove rall form . Ri chard Se rra's stee l objects, for exa mpl e, look just as
homogcnous and integral as the stone a nd wood sc ulptures o f the
older sculptural traditions. Many of the installations and objects
by a rtists of the 1960s and 70s re ly o n t he simplest and m ost obvi-
ous me thods of jo ining a nd co nn ecti ng that we know. Beuys, Me rz
and oth e rs often used loose settings in space, co ils, folds and layers
wh e n deve loping a whole from th e indi vidual pa rts.
Th e direct, see mingl y se lf-evid ent way in whic h th ese obj ects are
put togeth e r is inte resting. Th ere is no inte rruption of t he ove rall
im press io n by sm a ll parts whic h have noth ing to do with t he
obj ect's statem e nt. Our pe rce ption of th e whole is not distracted
by inesse ntial details. Every tou ch, eve ry join , every joint is t h ere in
order to re inforce the idea of th e quiet prese nce of t he work.
Wh en I des ign buildings, I. try to give them this kind of presence.
Howe ver, unlik e the sculptor, I have to start with fun ction a l and
tech n ica l requireme nts th at represe nt th e fundamenta l task I have
to fulfill . Architecture is a lways fa ced with t he c hall e nge of deve l-
opi ng a whole out of innum e rabl e deta il s, o ut of various fun ctions

14
and forms, materials and dimens ion s. Th e architect must look for
rati onal co nstructions a nd forms for edges and joints, for th e points
where surfaces intersect and diffe re nt mate rials meet. These formal
d etails determine the se nsitive transitions within the la rger propor-
tions of th e building. Th e deta ils establi sh the forma l rhythm , the
building's fin e ly fractionated sca le.
De tails express wh at th e basic idea of th e design requires at the
relevant po int in the object: belonging or se paration, te ns ion or
lightness, friction, so lidity, fragility.
De tails, whe n th ey are successful, are not mere decoration. They
do not distract or entertain. They lead to a n understanding of the
whole of wh ic h they are a n inhere nt part.
Th e re is a magical powe r in every comple ted , se lf-contained
creation . It is as if we succumb to th e magic of the full y developed
architectural body. Our attention is ca ught, pe rhaps for the first
time, by a detail suc h as two nails in the floor that hold the steel
plates by the worn-out doorstep . Emotions well up. Something
moves us.
Beyond the symbols
"Anything goes," say the doers. " Mainstreet is a lm ost all right," says
Venturi , th e architect. "Nothing works any more," say those who
su ffe r from the hostility of our day and age. These stateme nts stand
for contradictory opinions, if not for contradictory facts. We get
used to li ving with co ntradictions a nd there are seve ral reasons
for this: tradition s c rumble, and with the m cultural identities.
No one seems really to understand and control the dynamics deve l-
oped by economics and politi cs. Everything merges into everything
else, and mass co mmunication creates an a rtifi cial world of sign s.
Arbitrarin ess prevails.
16
Postmode rn li fe cou ld be described as a state in which eve ry-
thing beyond our own p<' rsonal biography see ms vague, blurred,
and some how unrea l. The world is full of s igns and information,
which stand for things that no one fully understands because th ey,
too, turn out to be me re signs for oth er things. The rea l thing
remains hidden. No one eve r gets to see it.
Nevertheless, I am co nvin ced that rea l things do exist, however
endangered th ey may be. Th e re arc ea rth a nd water, the light of
the sun , la ndscapes and vegetation; a nd there are objects, mad e by
man , such as mac hines, too ls or mu sica l in strume nts, whi ch are
what th ey are, which are not mere vehicles for an artistic message,
whose presence is self-evide nt.
Whe n we look at objects or buildings which see m to be at peace
within the mselves, our pe rce ption beco mes ca lm and dulled. Th e
objects we perceive have no message for us, th ey arc simply the re.
Our perceptive faculties grow quiet, unprejudiced and unacqui si-
tive. They reach beyo nd signs and symbols, they a rc open, e mpty.
It is as if we could sec something on whic h we cannot focus our
consciousn ess. H erc, in this perceptual vacuum, a memory may
surface, a memory whi c h see ms to issue from the depth s of time.
Now, our observation of the object embraces a presentiment of the
world in all its wholeness, because there is nothing that can not be
understood.
Th e re is a powe r in th e ordinary things of e veryday li fe, Edward
Hopper's paintings see m to say. We on ly have to look at them long
e nough to see it.
Completed landscapes
To me, th e prese nce of ce rtain buildin gs has something secret
about it. Th ey see m simpl y to be th ere. We do not pay any special
attention to them . And yet it is virtua ll y impossible to imagin e th e
pla ce where they stand without the m. These buildings appear to be
17
anchort>d firml y in Lh c g ro und . They ma ke the impress ion o r lwi ng not try to convince a11d impress like proje<"L drawings. They see m lo

a st> lr-evid c nt part of th r ir surroundings an d lh<'y see m lo he say- be sayi ng: '"This is exactly how it wi ll look."

in g: " I am as yo u sci' me a nd l belong he re." Working draw ings a re like anatomical drawings. Th ey reveal

I have a passionate desire to des ign such buildings, buildin gs so mething of tlw st>crt>t in ner tension thal 1hc finis hed ard1i1ectu-

that. in lime, grow natu ra ll y into being a part o r the for m a nd his- ral body is rt>luctant to divulge: th e art of joining, h idden geomt>l ry,

tory o r their platc. the frict io n of materials, the inne r fo rces of bearing anrl holding,

Every new wo rk oJ archilerlurc intervenes in a spPcific historical the human work wh ich is inhe rent in man-made things.

siluatio n . It is essentia l to the qualit y of the int f' rvent io n lhat Pt>r Kirke by once did a brick sculptu re in t he fo rm of a houst>

the new building should e mbrace qua liti es which can e nte r in to a for a Documenta ex hibition in Kassel. Th e house had no entrance.

mea ningfu l di a logue with the existing situation. For if the interve n- Its intnior was inaccessible and hidden. II rema ined a secret,

tion is to find its place, it must make us see what already ex ists in whi ch added an aura of mystical depth to the sculpture's othe r

a new lighl. We throw a stone into the water. San d swi rls up a nd qualiti es.

settles aga in . The stir was necessa ry. The stone has found it s place. 1 think that the hidd en stru etures and const ru ctio ns of a hou se

But the pond is no lon ger the sa mf'. should be o rgan ized in such a way that they endow th e body of th e

I bcli evt> that buildings only be acce pted by their surroundings if building with a quality of inn er te nsion and vibration. This is how

th ey havf' th e ability to a ppea l to our e motions a nd minds in vari- vio lins arc made . They re m ind us of the living bodies of nature.

o us ways. Si nce o ur fee lings a nd understanding are rooted in the

past. o ur sensuous co nn ectio ns with a building must rt>spect the
process of rem c mbt>ring. But, as John Berger says, what Wt> re m em- Unexpected truths
ber ca nnot be compared lo the end of a lin e. Various possibilities In my yo uth I imagined poetry as a kin d of colored cloud mad e up
lead to and m eet in th e act o f rt>rne mbcring. Im ages, moods, form s, of more or less diffuse metaphors and allusions which, a lt hough

words. signs or compa riso ns ope n up possib ilities of a pproac h. Wt> th ey might be t>njoyable, were difficult to associate with a reliable

mu st co nstru cl a radial syste m of a pproach t hat c na blt>s us to see view of the world . As an archjtect, I have learned to understand

tht> work o f a rchitecture as a focal po int from different a ng les thal the o pposite of this yo uthfuJ defi nition of poetry is prohahl y

simultaneously: histo ri call y. aesthe tically, fun ctiona lly. persona ll y, closer to the truth.

passionately. If a work of a rchitecture consists of fo rms and contents whi ch

com bine to create a strong fundam (ntal mood that is powe rfu l
t>nough to afft>c'l us, it may possess the qualities of a work of art.

The tension inside the body This arl has, however, not h ing to do with inl e resting co nfig urations

Am ong a ll the drawings produce d by architects, my favorilt>s art> or originality. It is concerned wi th insig hts and undnstanding, and

th e working drawings. Working drawings a rc d pta il cd and ohjec- abovt> all with t ruth . Pe rhaps por lry is unt>xpected truth. It lives in

tivc. Create d for thr crafts men who ar!' to g iv<' tht> im agined object stillness. Arch itecture's a rtistie task is Lo give thi s still ex pectancy a

a material form, they arc fret of associative manipulation. They do form. The bu ild ing itse lf is nf'vt>r poeti c . At most, it may pos~css

18 19
subtl e qualities which. at ce rtain m omen t ~ , pl'rmit us to understand
something that we were nevt' r ablP lo undt>rsland in quite thi ~ way
before.
Desire
The elea r, logical de velo pment of a work of arehite1ture de pe nd s
on rational and objective crite ria. Wh en I permit subjecti ve and
uncon sidert>d ideas to intervene in the objective cour~c of th e
design process. I ackn owledge thC' significance of pcrsu nal feelings
in my work.
When architects talk about th eir buildings, what th ey say is often
at odds with the statements of the buildings th emselves. This is
probably co nneetcd with the fact that they te nd to talk a good deal
about th e rational , thought-out aspects of th eir work and less about
the sec ret passio n which inspires it.
Th e design process is based on a constant interplay of feeling and
rraso n. Thr fee lings, prefe re nres, longings, and des ires that emerge
and demand to b(' given a form must be controlled by critical powers
of reasoning, hut it is our feelings that tell us whether abstract con-
side rations really ring true.
To a large degree, designing is based on understanding and
establis hing systems of order. Yet 1 believe th at the esse ntia l sub-
stance of th e architecture we seek proceeds from foeling and
insight. Precious mom ents of intuitio n result from pati ent work.
With th e sudden e mergence of an inner image, a new lin e in a
drawing, th e whole design c han ~cs and is newl y formulated within
a fraction of a second. It is as if a powerful drug were sudden ly
taking elTcel. Everyt hin g I kn ew before auout the thing I a m Crl'al-
in g is noodcd by a bright new li ght. I ex perience joy a nd passion,
and somrthin g dee p in side me see ms to affirm: r want to huild thi s
house!"
20
Composing in space
Gromrtry is auout th e laws of lin rs. plane surfaces, and thrcr-
dim ensional bodirs in space. Geomrtry can he lp us und erstand
how to bandit> spate in a rchitecture.
In architecture, there arc two basic possibilitirs of spatial com-
position : the elo eel an;hit cctural uody whirh isolates space within
itself, a nd thf' Opf'n body whi ch embraces an area of space that is
connected with thl' endl ess eontinuum. The ex lt>nsion of :;pace can
be mad<' visible through bodies such as slabs or pol rs placed freely
or in rows in th r s patial ex panse of a room.
1 do not claim lo know what space reall y is. Tht> longer I think
about it, the morr mysterious it becomes. About Ont' thing, how-
eve r, I am sure: when we, as architects, arc co ncnned with space,
we arc co nce rn ed with but a tiny part of the infinity that surrounds
the earth, and yet each and eve ry building marks a uniqu e place in
this infinity.
With this idea in mi nd, I start by sketching th e first pla ns and
sections of my design. I draw s pat ial diagra ms and simple volum es.
I try to visualize th em as precise bodies in space, and I feel it is im-
portant to sense exactl y how they define and se parate an area of
intc rior space from th e space th at surrounds th em, or how th ey con-
tain a part of th e infinite spatial continuum in a kind of open vesse l.
Buildings that have a strong impact always co nvey an inte nse
fee ling of th eir spatial quality. Th ey embra ce th e mysteri ous void
call ed space in a special way a nd mak e it vi brate.
Common sense
Design ing is inventing. When I was still al arts and c rafts sc hool, we
tri ed to follow this principle. We looked for a ne w so lution to every
problem. We f'clt it was important to be avant-garde. Not until later
did I rea li ze that th ere are basically onl y a very few a rchitrl't ural
problems for whic h a va lid so lution has not already bee n found .
21
 In retrospect, my education in design seems som ewhat a-histori-
ca l. Our rol e mode ls were the pion ee rs and inventors of " Das Nt>uc
Ba uen." We rcgardt>d a rch itectural history as a part of ge nt>ra l edu-
cation , whic h had little inlluf'n ce on our work as designers. Thu s,
we frequ e ntl y invented what had already bee n invented , a nd we
trif'd our hand at inve nting the uninve ntabl e.
Thi s kind of tra ining in design is not without its educational
value. Late r, howe ver, as practi cin g architects, we do well to get
acquainted with the enormous fund of knowle dge a nd expe ri e nce
contain ed in the history of architecture. l believe that if we inte-
grate this in our work , we have a bette r c han ce of making a genu-
ine co ntribution of our own .
Architecture is, howeve r, not a linear process that leads more or
less logicall y a nd dirt>ctly from a rchitectural hi story to new build-
ings. On th e search for th e architecture that I e nvisage, I fr eque ntly
ex pe ri ence stifling mom ents of emptin ess. Nothing I can think of
seems to ta ll y with what I want and cannot yet e nvisage. At th ese
moments, I try to shake off th e academic knowl edge of a rc hitecture
I have acquired because it has sudde nly started to hold me back.
This helps. I find I ca n breath e more free ly. I catch a whiff of the
old familiar mood of th e inventors and pioneers. Design has once
again become invention.
Th e creative act in which a work of architecture co mes into
bein g goes beyond a ll historical and tec hni ca l knowledge. lts fo cus
is on the dialog ue with thf' issues of our time. At the moment of its
creation, architecture is bound to t he present in a ve ry special way.
It refl ects th e spirit of its inventor and gives its own answers to th e
questions of o ur time through its fun ctional form and appea rance,
its re lationship with other works of architecture and with the place
where it sta nds.
Th e a nswers to these qu estions whi ch I can formulate as an a rc hi-
tect a rc limite d. Our tim es of chan ge and tra nsition do not permit
big gestures. There a rc only a few re maining comm on values le ft
upon which we can build and which we all share. I thus appeal for
a kind of architecture of common senst' based on the fundam e ntals
that we still know, und erstand . and feel. I carefull y ob,crve th e
con crC'le a ppt'aran cC' of the world, and in my buildings I try lo
e nhance what seems to !Jc valu a bl e, to correct what is di sturbing,
a nd lo create an ew what Wl' l'c c l is missing.
Melancholy perceptions
Ettore Scola's film Le bal'' r<'eounts fift y yea rs of European history
with no dialogu e and a complete unity of place. It consists solely of
mu sic and th<' motion of peo ple moving and danc ing. We re main in
the same room with the same people throughout, whil e time goes
by and the dance rs grow older.
The fo cus of the film is on its main c haracte rs. But it is th e ball-
room with its tiled noor and its pane ling, the stairs in th e back-
ground and th e li on 's paw at th e s ide whi ch c reates the film 's
dense, powe rful atmosphe re. Or is it th e other way round'? Is it th e
people who endow the room with its partic ular mood ?
I ask this question because I am convin ced tha t a good building
must be capable of absorbing th e tra ces of human life and thus of
ta king o n a spec ifi c richness.
a turally, in thi s co nte xt I think of the patina of age on materi-
a ls, of innumerable sma ll scratc hes on surfaces, of varnish that has
grown du ll a nd brittl<', and of e dges polished by use. Hut wh en I
closP my eyes and try to forget both these physica l traces and my
own first associations, what remains is a diffe re nt impress ion , a
deeper fee ling - a co nsc iou sness of lime pass ing and an aware ness
of th e human li ves that have bee n acted out in these places and
rooms and charged them with a special aura. At th ese mo ments,
architecture 's aesth etic and practica l values, stylisti c and histori ca l
sig nifi ca nce arc of secondary importance. What mattr rs now is o nl y
this feeling of dee p me la nchol y. Architecture is exposed t o life. If
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its body is SPnsi ti vt' pnou gh . it can assum e a qu a lity th at b ea r~ wit-
ness lo the rea lity of past life.
Steps left behind
When I work o n a desig n I a llow mysel f lo be g uided by im ages a nd
moods that I rr mr rn bC' r and can rela te lo lh<' kind of arThitl'clurt'
.I am looking fur. Most of the im ages that r.o me to mind o rig in a te
from my subj<'cti ve experie nce and a rt' onl y rare ly accompanie d by
a re membered arf'hitectural commrntary. \Vhilr I am desig ning
I try to find out what th ese images mean so that I can learn how to
neat!' a wea lth of visual form s an d atmosphe res .
After a ce rta in time, the object I am desig nin g takes on w mc of
the qualities of th e images l use as models. lf I ca n find a m ean in g-
ful way of interior.k ing and supe rimposing these qualities. the
o bject will assum e a depth and ric hn ess. If I am lo ac hieve thi s
effect, the qualities I am givi ng the desig n must merg<' and bl e nd
with the co nstru ctiona l and formal structure of the finished build-
ing. Form and constru ction , appearance and !'unction are no longer
separate. They belong togeth e r and form a whole.
Wh e n we look at t he finished building, ou r eyes, g uide d by our
a na lyti cal mind, te nd to stray and look for deta il s lo hold o n to. But
the sy nth esis of th e whol e docs not become com pre hensible
throu gh isolated details. Eve rything refers to e ve rything.
At this mo ment, the initia l im ages fa de into the bac kg round. The
mode ls, words, an d compa risons that were necessa ry for th e crea-
tion of the who le d isappea r like ste ps that have been left behind .
Th e ne w buildin g assumes the foca l position an d is itsel f. Its history
bcgirr s.
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Resistance
I be lieve th at a rd1iter ture today needs to rcOert o n thr tas ks and
possi biliti rs whi r h a re inherently its own. Arc hit ecture is not a \ e hi -
elr or a symbo l fo r things th at do not be long to its essence. In a
society th at ce lebrates the inesse nti a l, a rc hitecture can put up a
resistance, counteract th e \\astc of form s a nd mea nings, and spea k
its ow n lang uage.
I be li e ve that th e lang uage of architecture is not a qu esti on of a
s pecifi c style. Every bui lding is built for a specifi e use in a specifi c
place and for a spec ific so ciety. My buildings try to an swrr the
qu estio ns th at e mrrg<' from these simpl e fa cts a s precisd y and c rit-
iea ll y as t lwy ra n.
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The hard core of beauty
1991
T wo weeks ago l happe ned lo hear a rad io prog ra m o n the Ame ri-
can poet Willia m Ca rlos Willia ms. Th r p rogra m was entitled 'The
Hard Co re of Beauty." Thi s phrase ra ught my atte nti o n. I like the
ide a t hat beauty has a ha rd core, an d whe n I think of arch itecture
thi s association of beauty and a hard rorr has a ce rtain familiarit y.
" T he mac hin e is a thing that has no supe rflu ous parts," Williams is
s upposed to haw sa id. And I imm edi ate ly th ink I kn ow what he
mea nt. It's a tho ught that Pe te r ll andkc alludes to, I fee l, wh e n he
says that beauty lies in na tural , grown things that do not carry any
sig ns or messages, and wh e n he a dds th at he is upset when he can-
not disco ve r, dis-cove r, th e mea ning of things fo r himse lf.
And then I learned from thr rad io program that t he poetry of
Willia m Carlos Williams is based on th e co n\ iction that t here a re
no id eas except in t he things th e mse lves, a nd th at the purpose of his
art was to direct his se nsory perce pti o n to th e world of things in
o rd e r to ma ke them h is own .
I n William s's work , sa id th e speaker, this takes pl ace see mingl y
une mo ti o nal ly and laconically, and it is precise ly for t hi s reaso n
that his tex ts have suc h a strong e motiona l impact.
What I heard a ppeals to m e: not to wish to stir up e motion s with
bui ldings, I t hink to myself, but to a llo w e moti o ns to e me rge, to be.
And: to re main close to th e thing itse lf, c lose to th e esse nce of th e
thing I have to shape, co nfid e nt tha t if th e building is eoneeived
accurately e nough for its place a nd its fun eti o n, it wi ll develop its
own strength , with no need for artistic a ddition .
The hard core of bea uty: co nee ntrated substa nce.
But where arc a re h iteeture's fi e lds of forc e t hat constitu te its
substa nce, a bove and heyond a ll supe rfi c ia lity and arb itrar iness?
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