I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated it.
Peter ZumthorIn a fragment of a second you can understand: Things you know, things you donโt know, things you donโt know that you donโt know, conscious, unconscious, things which in a fragrant of a second you can react to: we can all imagine why this capacity was given to us as human beings - I guess to survive. Architecture to me has the same kind of capacity. It takes longer to capture, but the essence to me is the same. I call this atmosphere. When you experience a building and it gets to you. It sticks in your memory and your feelings. I guess thats what I am trying to do.
Peter ZumthorThere is still a real need for good quality architecture, not paper architecture, but the real stuff.
Peter ZumthorI am convinced that a good building must be capable of absorbing the traces of human life and taking on a specific richness... I think of the patina of age on materials, of innumerable small scratches on surfaces, of varnish that has grown dull and brittle, and of edges polished by use.
Peter Zumthor