Peter Zumthor Thinking Architecture

Peter Zumthor
Thinking Architecture
PETER
ZUMTHOR
THINKING
ARCHITECTURE
BIRKHAUSER - PUBLISHERS FOR ARCHITECTURE
BASEL · BOSTON · BERLIN
A way of looking at things
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The hard core of beauty
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From passion for things to the things themselves
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The body of architecture
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Teaching architecture, learning architecture
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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 architecture 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
I try to
U $<'
materials likr this in my work. I brlinc that lht·y can
assume a portie quality in the l'Onlrxt of an a rch itrctural objPct,
gro und and th r flo ors, about th e soft asphalt warmed b) thr un ,
a lthough onl) if tlw arehi tect is ahlr to generate a meaningful situ-
about the paving stones fO\rre d \\ith rhrstnut leaves in th e
ation for tlwm , since matrrials in tlwmsc h es a re not poetic.
autumn, and about all thr doo rs which closed in s uch diff<'rrnt
Th e sense' that I try to instill into material s is bryond all rules of
wa) S, o nr repl rte a nd dignified, a nothrr \\ith a thin , e hl'a p r latter,
eomposition. and thei r tangibilit) , mell and aeoustic qualit iC's are
others hard , impla ca bl e and intimidating ...
mrrf'ly elrnw nt s of the language that we arr obligrd to w.r. Se nse
Mcmoril.'s likr these con ta in the decprst arr hitcetura l cxprrirn cc
emerges whrn I suC'ceed in bringing o ut thr s peeifi<' meanings of
that I know. They a re thr rrservoirs of the architectural atmos-
ecrtain matrrials in m~ bui ld ings. meanings that can on ly be
ph e res and im ages that I rx plorc in my work as an arc hitect.
perceived in just thi s way in thi s one buildin g.
\Vh rn I design a building, I frequ e ntly find mysc·lf" sinking into
If we work towards this goal, wr must co nstant ly ask o urse lves
o ld, half-forgotten memori es, and thrn I try to rrcollert ''hat
"hat th e use of a parti cu lar material could mran in a spccifir archi-
thr rr me mbcrcd architectura l situati o n was rea lly like, what it
tectural co ntext. Good answers to these questions can throw new
had meant to me at the time, and I try to think how it cou ld he lp
li gh t onto both the way in which thr material is ge nrra ll y usrd and
me no\\ to rcviH' that vibrant atmosphere pervaded by th e simpl e
its own in h r ren t se nsuou s qualities.
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
If we suecrcd in this , materials in arc hitecture can be made to
shine and vibrate.
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
Work within things
of a re hitccture ''hi c h mig ht di,ulgr the secre t of thr memo ry-
It is sa id th at o ne of t he m ost imprcs ivc things abou t the music of
lade n mood.
,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
Made of materials
fee ling for thf' com position as a whole - thr who le whic h makes
To me, there is so mething revea ling a hout th e work of Josl'ph
se nse of th e details. The music seems to be based upon a clear
Beu) S an d somr of th e artists of the Arte Povera group. Wh at
structure, and if
impresses me is thr prec ise and sens uou s way th ey use ma tl'ri -
fab ric it is possible to a ppre he nd the ru les that govern the stru cture
a ls. It seems anchored in an ancient, e lemental know led ge about
of the mu sic.
\IC
trace the indi' idua l th reads of the mus ical
man 's use of matr ria ls, and at th e samr time to expose the very
Construct ion is the art of making a mcaningful ,~hole out of man y
esscnee of thesl' mate rial s whieh is hcyon cl a ll cultura lly conveyed
parts. Buildings arc witncssrs to tlw hum a n a bility t o construct
meaning.
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 constru 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 portraya 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
amazes me.
If the natura lism and graphi c virtuosity of a rc hitectural po rtraya 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
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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
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detracting from its impact. The drawing itse lf must lake on the qua lity 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 obvious 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 lopi ng a whole out of innum e rabl e deta il s, o ut of various fun ctions
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and forms, materials and dimens ion s. Th e architect must look for
Postmode rn li fe cou ld be described as a state in which eve ry-
rati onal co nstructions a nd forms for edges and joints, for th e points
thing beyond our own p<' rsonal biography see ms vague, blurred,
where surfaces intersect and diffe re nt mate rials meet. These formal
and some how unrea l. The world is full of s igns and information,
d etails determine the se nsitive transitions within the la rger propor-
which stand for things that no one fully understands because th ey,
tions of th e building. Th e deta ils establi sh the forma l rhythm , the
too, turn out to be me re signs for oth er things. The rea l thing
building's fin e ly fractionated sca le.
remains hidden. No one eve r gets to see it.
De tails express wh at th e basic idea of th e design requires at the
Nevertheless, I am co nvin ced that rea l things do exist, however
relevant po int in the object: belonging or se paration, te ns ion or
endangered th ey may be. Th e re arc ea rth a nd water, the light of
lightness, friction, so lidity, fragility.
the sun , la ndscapes and vegetation; a nd there are objects, mad e by
De tails, whe n th ey are successful, are not mere decoration. They
man , such as mac hines, too ls or mu sica l in strume nts, whi ch are
do not distract or entertain. They lead to a n understanding of the
what th ey are, which are not mere vehicles for an artistic message,
whole of wh ic h they are a n inhere nt part.
whose presence is self-evide nt.
Th e re is a magical powe r in every comple ted , se lf-contained
Whe n we look at objects or buildings which see m to be at peace
creation . It is as if we succumb to th e magic of the full y developed
within the mselves, our pe rce ption beco mes ca lm and dulled. Th e
architectural body. Our attention is ca ught, pe rhaps for the first
objects we perceive have no message for us, th ey arc simply the re.
time, by a detail suc h as two nails in the floor that hold the steel
Our perceptive faculties grow quiet, unprejudiced and unacqui si-
plates by the worn-out doorstep . Emotions well up. Something
tive. They reach beyo nd signs and symbols, they a rc open, e mpty.
moves us.
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.
Beyond the symbols
Now, our observation of the object embraces a presentiment of the
"Anything goes," say the doers. " Mainstreet is a lm ost all right," says
world in all its wholeness, because there is nothing that can not be
Venturi , th e architect. "Nothing works any more," say those who
understood.
su ffe r from the hostility of our day and age. These stateme nts stand
Th e re is a powe r in th e ordinary things of e veryday li fe, Edward
for contradictory opinions, if not for contradictory facts. We get
Hopper's paintings see m to say. We on ly have to look at them long
used to li ving with co ntradictions a nd there are seve ral reasons
e nough to see it.
for this: tradition s c rumble, and with the m cultural identities.
No one seems really to understand and control the dynamics deve loped by economics and politi cs. Everything merges into everything
Completed landscapes
else, and mass co mmunication creates an a rtifi cial world of sign s.
To me, th e prese nce of ce rtain buildin gs has something secret
Arbitrarin ess prevails.
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
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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 plat·c.
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.
But the pond is no lon ger the sa mf'.
I bcli evt> that buildings only be acce pted by their surroundings if
th ey havf' th e ability to a ppea l to our e motions a nd minds in vari-
1 think that the hidd en stru etures and const ru ctio ns of a hou se
should be o rgan ized in such a way that they endow th e body of th e
building with a quality of inn er te nsion and vibration. This is how
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
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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
Composing in space
Gromrtry is auout th e laws of lin rs. plane surfaces, and thrcrdim ensional bodirs in space. Geomrtry can he lp us und erstand
before.
how to bandit> spate in a rchitecture.
In architecture, there arc two basic possibilitirs of spatial composition : the elo ·eel an;hit cctural uody whirh isolates space within
Desire
The elea r, logical de velo pment of a work of arehite1·ture de pe nd s
itself, a nd thf' Opf'n body whi ch embraces an area of space that is
on rational and objective crite ria. Wh en I permit subjecti ve and
connected with thl' endl ess eontinuum. The ex lt>nsion of :;pace can
uncon sidert>d ideas to intervene in the objective cour~c of th e
be mad<' visible through bodies such as slabs or pol rs placed freely
design process. I ackn owledge thC' significance of pc·rsu nal feelings
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
in my work.
When architects talk about th eir buildings, what th ey say is often
about it, the morr mysterious it becomes. About Ont' thing, how-
at odds with the statements of the buildings th emselves. This is
eve r, I am sure: when we, as architects, arc co ncnned with space,
probably co nneetcd with the fact that they te nd to talk a good deal
we
arc co nce rn ed with but a tiny part of the infinity that surrounds
about th e rational , thought-out aspects of th eir work and less about
the earth, and yet each and eve ry building marks a uniqu e place in
the sec ret passio n which inspires it.
this infinity.
Th e design process is based on a constant interplay of feeling and
With this idea in mi nd, I start by sketching th e first pla ns and
rraso n. Thr fee lings, prefe re nres, longings, and des ires that emerge
sections of my design. I draw s pat ial diagra ms and simple volum es.
and demand to b(' given a form must be controlled by critical powers
I try to visualize th em as precise bodies in space, and I feel it is im-
of reasoning, hut it is our feelings that tell us whether abstract con-
portant to sense exactl y how they define and se parate an area of
side rations really ring true.
intc rior space from th e space th at surrounds th em, or how th ey con-
To a large degree, designing is based on understanding and
tain a part of th e infinite spatial continuum in a kind of open vesse l.
establis hing systems of order. Yet 1 believe th at the esse ntia l sub-
Buildings that have a strong impact always co nvey an inte nse
stance of th e architecture we seek proceeds from foeling and
fee ling of th eir spatial quality. Th ey embra ce th e mysteri ous void
insight. Precious mom ents of intuitio n result from pati ent work.
call ed space in a special way a nd mak e it vi brate.
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
Common sense
taking elTcel. Everyt hin g I kn ew before auout the thing I a m Crl'al-
Design ing is inventing. When I was still al arts and c rafts sc hool, we
in g is noodcd by a bright new li ght. I ex perience joy a nd passion,
tri ed to follow this principle. We looked for a ne w so lution to every
··r want to huild thi s
problem. We f'clt it was important to be avant-garde. Not until later
and somrthin g dee p in side me see ms to affirm:
house!"
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 .
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In retrospect, my education in design seems som ewhat a-historica 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 education , 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 integrate this in our work , we have a bette r c han ce of making a genuine 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 buildings. 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 hitect 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
its body is SPnsi ti vt' pnou gh . it can assum e a qu a lity th at
a kind of architecture of common senst' based on the fundam e ntals
ness lo the rea lity of past life.
b ea r~
wit-
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,
Steps left behind
a nd lo create an ew what
When I work o n a desig n I a llow mysel f lo be g uided by im ages a nd
Wl'
l'c c l is missing.
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
Melancholy perceptions
from my subj<'cti ve experie nce and a rt' onl y rare ly accompanie d by
Ettore Scola's film ··Le bal'' r<'eounts fift y yea rs of European history
a re membered arf'hitectural commrntary. \Vhilr I am desig ning
with no dialogu e and a complete unity of place. It consists solely of
I try to find out what th ese images mean so that I can learn how to
mu sic and th<' motion of peo ple moving and danc ing. We re main in
neat!' a wea lth of visual form s an d atmosphe res .
the same room with the same people throughout, whil e time goes
by and the dance rs grow older.
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-
The fo cus of the film is on its main c haracte rs. But it is th e ball-
ful way of interior.k ing and supe rimposing these qualities. the
room with its tiled noor and its pane ling, the stairs in th e back-
o bject will assum e a depth and ric hn ess. If I am lo ac hieve thi s
ground and th e li on 's paw at th e s ide whi ch c reates the film 's
effect, the qualities I am givi ng the desig n must merg<' and bl e nd
dense, powe rful atmosphe re. Or is it th e other way round'? Is it th e
with the co nstru ctiona l and formal structure of the finished build-
people who endow the room with its partic ular mood ?
ing. Form and constru ction , appearance and !'unction are no longer
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 materia ls, of innumerable sma ll scratc hes on surfaces, of varnish that has
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.
grown du ll a nd brittl<', and of e dges polished by use. Hut wh en I
At this mo ment, the initia l im ages fa de into the bac kg round. The
closP my eyes and try to forget both these physica l traces and my
mode ls, words, an d compa risons that were necessa ry for th e crea-
own first associations, what remains is a diffe re nt impress ion , a
tion of the who le d isappea r like ste ps that have been left behind .
deeper fee ling - a co nsc iou sness of lime pass ing and an aware ness
Th e ne w buildin g assumes the foca l position an d is itsel f. Its history
of th e human li ves that have bee n acted out in these places and
bcgirr s.
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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Resistance
The hard core of beauty
I be lieve th at a rd1iter ture today needs to rcOert o n thr tas ks and
1991
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
T wo weeks ago l happe ned lo hear a rad io prog ra m o n the Ame ri-
its ow n lang uage.
can poet Willia m Ca rlos Willia ms. Th r p rogra m was entitled '·The
I be li e ve that th e lang uage of architecture is not a qu esti on of a
Hard Co re of Beauty." Thi s phrase ra ught my atte nti o n. I like the
s pecifi c style. Every bui lding is built for a specifi e use in a specifi c
ide a t hat beauty has a ha rd core, an d whe n I think of arch itecture
place and for a spec ific so ciety. My buildings try to an swrr the
thi s association of beauty and a hard rorr has a ce rtain familiarit y.
qu estio ns th at e mrrg<' from these simpl e fa cts a s precisd y and c rit-
" T he mac hin e is a thing that has no supe rflu ous parts," Williams is
iea ll y as t lwy ra n.
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 cannot 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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