Atmospheres

What “really constitutes an architectural atmosphere”? Peter Zumthor says, is “this singular density and mood, this feeling of presence, well-being, harmony, beauty … under whose spell I experience what I otherwise would not experience in precisely this way.” Zumthor’s passion is the creation of buildings that produce this kind of effect, but how can one actually set out to achieve it?

In nine short, illustrated chapters framed as a process of self-observation, Peter Zumthor describes…